MPOLEON AT ST. HELENA; 

OR, 

mTERESTING ANECDOTES AND REMARKABLE 
CONVERSATIONS OF THE EMPEROR 

DURING THE FIVE AND A HALF YEARS OF HIS CAPTIVITY. 

COLLECTED PROM THE MEMORfALS OF 

Ifis CasaS; (ID'JJlmii, 3ilnntljnlnii, antnmmErtiii, auli atjira. 

BY JOHN S. C. "a B B T T. 

IBitji 3llttstriitinii3. 



•My son should not think of avenging my death. 
■ Posterity will do me justice." — Napoleon. 



NE W Y ORK: 
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 

PEARL STREET, FRANKLIN SQUARE. 

1855. 



c" 



s 



^%^' 



Enterctl, according to Act of Congress, in the j'ear one thousand eight 
hundred and fifty-five, by 

HARPER & BROTHERS, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of 
Mew YiM'k. 



PREFACE. 



The Emperor Napoleon, by almost universal consent, is pronounced to be, 
intellectually, the most illustrious of mankind. Even his bitterest enemies 
are compelled to do homage to the universality and the grandeur of his gen- 
ius. Lamartine declares him to be "the greatest of the creations of God." 
In the following terms, Sir Archibald Alison testifies to his gigantic intelli- 
gence : 

"Never were talents of the highest, genius of the most exalted kind, more 
profusely bestowed upon a Imman being. The true scene of Napoleon's 
glory, and the most characteristic of the ruling passion of his mind, was his 
cabinet. Those who are struck with astonishment at the immense informa- 
tion and just discrimination which he displayed at the council-board, and the 
varied and important public improvements which he set on foot in every part 
of his dominions, will form a most inadequate conception of his mind, unless 
they are at the same time familiar with the luminous and profound views 
which he threw out on the philosophy of politics in the solitude of St. Helena. 
Never was evinced a clearer proof of the truth, which a practical acquaint- 
ance with men must probably have impressed upon every observer, that tal- 
ent of the highest order is susceptible of any application, and that accident 
or Supreme direction alone determines whether their possessor is to become 
a Homer, a Bacon, or a Napoleon. 

" It would require the observation of a Thucydides, directing the pencil 
of a Tacitus, to portray, by a few touches, such a character ; and modern 
idiom, even in their hands, would probably have proved inadequate to the 
task. Equal to Alexander in military achievement, superior to Justinian in 
legal information, sometimes second only to Bacon in political sagacity, he 
possessed, at the same time, the inexhaustible resources of Hannibal, and the 
administrative powers of Caesar." 

The genius of Napoleon is astounding. All branches of human knowledge 
seemed alike familiar to his gigantic mind. His conversations at St. Helena, 
scattered through the numerous and voluminous memorials of those who 
gleaned them, are replete with intensest interest. During the long agony of 
his imprisonment and his death, he conversed with perfect freedom upon the 
events of his marvelous career, and upon all those subjects of morals, politics, 
and religion, which most deeply concern the welfare of our race. There is 



iv PREFACE. 

no mind which will not be invigorated by familiarity with these profound 
thoughts, expressed with so much glow of feeling and energy of diction. 

The author of this volume performs mainly but the unambitious task of 
compilation. He desires to take the reader to St. lieleiia, and to introduce 
him to the humble apartment of the Emperor. He would give him a seat 
in the arm-chair, by the side of the illustrious sufferer reclining upon the sofa, 
or lead him to accompany the Emperor in his walk among the blackened 
rocks, and thus to listen to the glowing utterances of the imperial sage. The 
literature of our language affords no richer intellectual treat than the con- 
versations of Napoleon. Hitherto widely scattered in many volumes, and 
buried in the midst of a multiplicity of details of but transient interest, they 
have been inaccessible to the mass of readers. By presenting them in one 
volume, they are within the reach of all who can appreciate the eloquence of 
words and of thought. 

John S. C. Abbott. 

Brunswick, Maine, 1855. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE VOYAGE. 

The Emperor seeks the Hospitalitj of England — Doomed to St. Helena — His Trunks searched — 
Removed to the Northumberland — The Russian Campaign — Adieu to France — Habits on Ship- 
board — Threatening Aspect of the Russian Power — The French Navy — Captain Wright — Char- 
acter of Kleber and of Uesaix — Napoleon at Toulon — Anecdotes — Napoleon in Italy — Anec- 
dotes — The Little Corporal — Dictation — Approach to St. Helena Page 13 

*^ CHAPTER n. 

RESIDENCE AT THE BRIERS. 

Description of St. Helena — The Ride to Longwood — Description of The Briers — The Youth of 
France — Deplorable Condition of the Exiles — Indignation of the Emperor — Note to the English 
Government — Overtures of the Bourbons — Suppression of the Tribunate — -Character of the Sen- 
ate — Anecdotes — Institute of Meudon — Candor of the Emperor — The Malay Slave — Popular Ed- 
ucation—Fatality of the Emperor's Career — Treatment of the Spanish Princes 30 

CHAPTER HI. 

KEMOVAI, TO LONGWOOD. 

Waterloo — Dangers of Military Commanders — Portraiture of Napoleon's Generals — The Spanish 
Princes — Political Prospects of France — Defense of Marshal Ney — Contrast between Ney and 
Turenne — Removal to Longwood — The Emperor's Apartments — Kindness of the Emperor — Po- 
litical Views — The Emperor's Wounds — Calumnies 52 

CHAPTER IV. 
1816, January. 
New-year's Day — Fowling-pieces — Colonel Wilks — The Disappointment — Visit to the Rooms — 
The drunken Sentinel — Social Reading — Goldsmith's Secret History — Conversation with Gov- 
ernor Wilks — Lodgings of Las Casas — The Emperor's Criticisms — Historical Remarks — The 
Ride — Mired Horse 67 

CHAPTER V. 
1816, February. 
Scanty Resources of the Island — The Emperor's Progress in English — Learns the Death of Mural 
— Eloquent Parallel — Affairs of Spain — Dismal Days — Caricatures — French Politics — Picture of 
Domestic Happiness — The Emperor's Opinion of the French Poets — Public Contractors — Vigi- 
lance of the Emperor 85 

CHAPTER VI. 

1816, March. 

Invasion of England — Etiquette of the Emperor's Court — The Emperor's Levees — The Court and 
the City — The Anonymous Letter — Remarks on Medicine — Corvisart — Medical Practice in Bab- 
ylon 97 

CHAPTER VIL 
1816, March. Continued. 

Trial of Ney — National Character of the French — The Emperor's Carriage taken at Waterloo — 

The Emperor at Dresden — Maria Louisa and Josephine — Alexander, Francis, and the King of 

. Prussia — Eloquent Effusion of the Emperor — Testimony of B. Constant 106 



vi CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VIII. 
1816, March. Continued. 
.New Insult to the Emperor — Execution of Marshal Ney — Message to the Prince Regent — Wretch- 
ed Food — Remarks on the Gracchi — Sleep during Battle — Historians — Military Characters — 
Soult, Massena — Political Confessions — Marmont — Murat — Berthier — Danger in Battle — Bul- 
letins — Summary of nine Months Page 117 

CHAPTER IX. 

1816, April. 
Conspiracies — Measures that might have been adopted after Waterloo — Characteristic Fruits — The 
State of Europe — Ascendency of Liberal Opinions — Talleyrand — Fouche — Political Reflections- 
Arrival of Sir Hudson Lowe — Remarks on the Return from Elba — Introduction of the Govern- 
or — Character and Conduct of Sir George Cockburn 129 

CHAPTER X. 
1816, April. Continued. .« 

Convention between the AlUed Powers — Declaration demanded of the Inmates of Longwood — Fare- 
well Visit of Governor Wilks — Interesting Conversation on the Arts — Message to the Prince 
Regent — Portfolio lost at Waterloo — Cost of the Emperor's Toilet — Expenses in different Capi- 
tals — The Furnishing of the imperial Palaces — The Emperor's Mode of examining Accounts 147 

CHAPTER XI. 

1816, April. Continued. 

Critique on Voltaire's Mohammed — Remarks on the Mohammed of History — Gretry — Napoleon's 

Proclamations — His Policy in Egypt — Confession of an illegal Act — The Domestics examined — 

. The Emperor a Peace-maker — The Abbe de Pradt — The Russian War 160 

CHAPTER XII. 

1816, May. 

The Achievements of the Emperor — Inhumanity of the Governor — Conversation with Dr. O'Meara 

— Parallel between the Revolutions of France and England — The Emigrants — Concurrence of 

happy Circumstances in the Emperor's Career — The Spanish Bourbons — Arrival of the wooden 

Palace — The Iliad — Characteristic Remarks — Hochc and other Generals 174 

CHAPTER XIII. 
1816, May. Continued. 

Ridiculous Invitation sent by Sir Hudson Lowe — Napoleon at the Institute — At the Council of 
State — On the Interior of Africa — The Marine Department — Decres — The Dictionary of Weath- 
ercocks — The Reception — Angry Interview with the Governor — Remarks of the Emperor on his 
Family " 192 

CHAPTER XIV. 
1816, May. Continued. 
The Empe-or sleeping — The Governor arrests a Servant at Longwood — The Bible — Princess 
Stephanie — Expulsion of Portalis — Political Reflections — Voltaire's Brutus — French Colony on 
the St. Lawrence — Carnot — French Manufactures — Physiognomy — The English Soldiers salute 
the Emperor — Corsica — Napoleon's Mother — Madam Chevreuse — The Conspirators — The Situ- 
ation of England 214 

CHAPTER XV. 

1816, June. 

Voltaire — Characteristic DifTerence between the English and the French — Affiected Anger of the 
Emperor — Reflections on the Governor — Expenses of the Emperor's Household at the Tuileries 
— Finance — Dictation resumed — Military Schools — Female Schools — Gil Bias — General Biza- 
net — Religious Opinions — Portraits of the Directors — Anecdotes — 18th Fructidor 237 



CONTENTS. y[{ 

CHAPTER XVI. 

1816, June. Continued. 

English Diplomacy — Lord ^Yh^tworth — Chatham — Castlereagh — Cornwalhs — Fox — Lacretelle's 
History of the Convention — Puns — Public Characters — Bailli — La Fayette — Monge — Gregoire 
— -St. Domingo — Dictations on the Convention Page 254 

CHAPTER XVn. 

1816, June. Continued. 

The War and Royal Family of Spain — Errors — Ferdinand at Valen^ay — Historical Sketch of the 
Events — The Moniteurs — The Liberty of the Press — The Conference at Tilsit — Anecdotes of the 
Emperor of Russia — Of the King and Queen of Prussia — Anecdote of Savary — The Emperor's 
Magnanimity 262 

CHAPTER XVra. 
1816, June. Continued; 
Arrival of the Commissioners — Etiquette established by Napoleon — Mode of dictating — The Return 
of the Monks — Departure of the Northumberland — Remarks on the History of the Russian Cam- 
paign — Lord Holland — Arrival of Books — Ideas on Political Economy — Annoyance by the Rats 
— Lord Castlereagh — French Heiresses — Allusion by Napoleon to his own History — Summary 
of three Months , 275 

CHAPTER XIX. 

1816, July. 

Pillage in War — Character of the French Soldier — Anecdotes of Brumaire-^Sieyes — Grand Elect- 
or — Cambaceres — New Vexations — Little Tristam — Difficulty of judging Men — Junot : his 
Wife — Bernadotte — Lannes — Murat : his Character and Death 291 

CHAPTER XX. 

1816, July. Continued. 

The Works of Cherbourg — Designs of the Emperor — Audience given to the Governor — Faubourg 
St. Germain — Aristocracy — Democracy — The Emperor's Intention to marry a French woman — 
Difficulties in reforming Society — Etiquette at Longwood 301 

CHAPTER XXL 

1816, July. Continued. 

Establishments for Mendicity — Illyria — Prisoners of State — Freedom of the French People — Egypt 

— The Desert — Anecdotes — Paternal Advice — Remarkable Conversations — Cagliostro, Mesmer, 

Gall, Lavater, Madam de Balbi — Conversation with the Admiral — Commissioners — Santini — 

Nuns — Convents — Monks — The French Clergy 310 

CHAPTER XXII. 

1816, August. 

^ Maria Antoinette — Manners of Versailles — -The Father of a Family — Napoleon's Sentimental Jour- 
ney — Spirit of the Times — The 10th of August — Piedmont^Canals of France — Plans for Paris^ 
—Versailles — Fontainebleau — History of Europe — Turkey — The Regency — Gustavus IV. — Ber- 
nadotte — Paul — Projects on India — War with Russia — Talleyrand — Madam de Stiiel ...... 325 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

1816, August. Continued. 

Avoiding the Governor — The Emperor's Birth-day — Present from Lord Holland^ — Remarks on Re- 
ligion — Angry Interview with the Governor — Regrets of the Emperor — Libels — General Sarraz- 
zin — The Hypocrite — Threats of Sir Hudson Lowe 342 



viii CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

1816, August. Continued. 

Protest against the Treaty of 2il August, 1815 — lleniarlvs on Russia — The Burning of Moscow — 
Projects of Napoleon liad he returned victorious — Decrees of Berlin and Milan — Political De- 
fense — Remarks to Captain Poppleton Page 356 

CHAPTER XXV. 

1816, Septe.mber. 

Faded Dresses — The Campaign of Saxony — Reflections — The Massacres of the Tliird of Septemher 

— Remarks on Revolutions — Ihihappy Fate of Louis XVI. — Letters of Madam de Maintenon — 

Errors of the English Ministers — The Debt of England — The Emperor's Court at the Tuileries — 

The l']mperor's Munificence — Guards of the Eagle — Lucien's Charlemagne 368 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

1816, September. Continued. 

Scarcity of Food — The Emperor's Freedom from Animosity — The Bourbons — On Impossibilities — 
Statistical Calculations — Sale of Plate — Fresh Vexations — Debt of St. Domingo — Plans of Ad- 
ministration — On Sensibility — Holland and King Louis — The Emperor's Family — Business 
Habits of the Emperor — Treasures of Napoleon 385 

CHAPTER XXVII. 
1816, October. 
Fatalism — The Governor seeks another Interview — New Demands and Restrictions — Remarks to 
Dr. O'Meara — Laws — Communication from Sir Thomas Reade — Reduction of Expenses — Influ- 
ence of Public Opinion — The Emperor's Son — The Sacred Cause of \^^^shington and of Napo 
leon — Great Grief of the Emperor 400 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

1816, October. Continued 

I'he Declaration to be signed — Perplexity and Dismay — The Emperor proposes an Incognito — Re- 
marks of the Emperor upon this Subject — Savary — Fouche — Sieyes — Conversation with Sieves 
— Anecdotes of the Emperor— Enthusiasm of the Parisian Populace — New Vexations — Four 
removed from Longwood 414 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

1816, October. Continued. 

Intellectual Employments — Sale of Plate — Madam de Stael — Baron Larrey — Remarks on the pe- 
culiar Situation of the Emperor — Expenses at St. Helena — Marshal Jourdan — The Russian War 
— The Chamber of Sickness — Lord Exmouth's Expedition — The Debt of England — Wellington 
and Waterloo — Sailors — Heartlessness of the Governor — Affecting Scene — Immorality — Want 
of Water — Playfulness of the Emperor — Thoughts on Italy 425 

CHAPTER XXX. 

1816, November. 

« 

Rupture of the Treaty of Amiens — Treatment of Prisoners — Exchange of Prisoners — Plan of em- 
ploying Prisoners of ^^'ar — ^lagnificent Views in reference to Antwerp — Reason for refusinj: 
the Terms olTercd at Chatillon — Confidence of the Emperor respecting the Verdict of Posterity 
— Disinthrallment of the Jews — Marriages — Freemasons — Illuminati — The Jesuits — The Affair 
of Mallet — The Emperor's Family — The Historical Atlas — Anecdotes 438 

CHAPTER XXXI 

1816, November, Continued 

Remarks on Russia — Contrast between Pitt and Fox — Monopolies — Wants of the French Navy — 
Remarks on the Imperial (^lovernment — Troubles in La Vendee — Remarks on Tragedy — Anec- 



CONTENTS. ix 

dotes — Remarks on Religion ; on Instinct — Blucher — The Treatment of Soldiers — The Neapoli- 
tans — On Peace with England — Sir Sydney Smith — The Regeneration of Spain — Sir Hudson 
Lowe — Duplicity of the English Government Page 450 

CHAPTER XXXn. 

1816, November. Continued. 

Dumouriez — Leopold — The Tuileries — Monarchies and Republics — Hostility of the English Minis- 
try — Designs of the Emperor — The Reorganization of Italy — Causes of the Emperor's Downfall 
— Bernadotte — Wounds of the Emperor — Devotion of his Soldiers — The Return from Elba — 
Plans after Waterloo — Talleyrand— The Sword of Frederick — The Second Marriage — Anecdote 
— Dismissal of the Servant of Las Casas — Causes of Success — Alexander the Great — Caesar — 
Hannibal — Frederick the Great — The Conscription — Lawyers — The Clergy 469 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

1816, November. Continued. 

Longwood invested — Dramatic Readings — Lord Liverpool — Lord Sidmouth — Lord Bathurst — Lord 
Castlereagh — The Division of Europe — Remarks on Wellington and Waterloo — Character of the 
French Ministers — Duroc — Marmont— Gaming — Memorable Remarks — A Hereditary Nobility 
— Truth of History — The Bourbon Conspiracy — Pichegru — Moreau 484 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

1816, November. Continued. 

Secret Visit from the Servant of Las Casas — Arrest of Las Casas — His Imprisonment — Indigna- 
tion of the Emperor — Fainting-fit of O'Meara 502 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

1816, December. 

Decision of Las Casas to return to Europe — Remarks of the Emperor upon the Conduct of the 
Governor — Remarks on Moreau, Desaix, Massena — Message to the Emperor from the Governor 
— Indignant Remarks of the Emperor — Character of Alexander — The Expedition to Copenhagen 
— The ,Call from Lady Lowe — Continued Imprisonment of Las Casas — Political Blunders of 
Lord Castlereagh — The Manufactures of France 509 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 

1816, December. Continued. 

Letter from the Emperor to Las Casas — Arrival of Sir Thomas Strange — Brutality of Colonel 
Reade — Death of Moreau — Anecdote — Continued Imprisonment of Las Casas — Relentings of 
the Governor — Views of the Emperor respecting his Situation — Las Casas forbidden to take 
leave of the Emperor — Departure of Las Casas — His subsequent Persecutions 516 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 

1817, January. 

New-Year's Gifts — Representations of Chateaubriand and of Sir Robert Wilson — Annoyance from 
Rats — Secret Amours of Napoleon — The Invasion of England — Conduct of the Governor. . 527 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

1817, February. 

IMessage from the Governor — Remarks of the Emperor upon his Treatment — Russia and the Em- 
peror Paul — On the Invasion of India — Designs of Alexander — The Ambigu — The Return from 
Elba — Character of the French — Newspapers withheld from the Emperor — Vigilance with 
which the Emperor was guarded — Blunders of Lord Castlereagh — The Botanist who had seen 
Maria Louisa 531 



V CONTENTS 

OHArriiu \\\ix 

IS17. MvRvii 

(■ *|«(i> AiiaortivM) of l.or\l OswtU^wagh — D'Mt^ara'a pivviona K»liiual»» of \\w KjujuMx^r — Naj»ohH>n'» 

Ovmtulouoo u\ jUo \ oixlict of IVstiM-itv — TKo UUvIs of IVIlotior-^Tho inn> UttiUng—'Tho IHstrt'ss 

u» Ku^l.uul — .Nrtjioloou"!* r»\>poMtiou to astiuiuo au luivijuili*^ W anion's Book — l\iueo Kosjeiu 

.MvMaohtMni fho InvokM-llcr Pahu TI»o Now 'IVstamout -(.\>iuhiot v>ftho (Jovornor — T.ilUv 

i-^Mut — Kouuurka wk KgN'm-Mouou — 'fho S«H*rt>t Monuvii-s — Ihiuiitg »ho Nations . . Pago 63i> 

(Mivrrru \i. 

IS 1 7, A OKU. aukl Max. 

Ou AristwMov — ComwallU -ValsH' IXwunouts - l.orxl Whitworth — Comiuontlalion ot" tho Fnj;li»lt 

>^^u>ou Habits of Writing I'loasaut Intoniow with Ailmual Maloolm — Koiuarks o» rtn'oiv- 

iug l.\>xvl Amhorst — Tho IViuovss of W'alos Ihrinoo 1.oo|h>KI Tho Uo oslaMishuuiit of Polanil — 

lVi>KviraWo Stato of l.ouis XV HI. — Kor\l l>athvn-st's Spotvh 555 

CHArrKU Xl.l 

tSl7, J» ,\K 

l"ht> M»arhU> Rwst — Wvout frvMU l.aUv >UvUaiu( ami others — Grand Lama — .Murat — \\'atprloo — 
Tho IVhvorv of tho Uvksl— "Iho Mvnhor of Na^Hvlc^Mj — Tt>i$tituony of Mrs AMI — MtHvssitv for 
tho stwiul AKUoation — Arrival of l.orvl Anvhorst . . > 56l> 

CHArrKU Xl.H 
1817. Jotv. 
Vrnnal <>4' the (V^K<fM,»— Makvlm — Valivlity of NajxJeon's Title to tho Cr\nvn — Brt^akfast with 
t.>'MovATa — Stv>rv v*f Iho Bust — Lottor to Mr. Kavlwiok — Tho ^^^>^!ontati^>n of Lorvl Aiuhorst — Ro- 
lu^urkahto VXivwrsAtion- — Vigilamv with which tho bhujn-rv^r was guarxKnl — Oaj»tain I'l^ihin^ono 
— Tho ^^Ysout — ^(.^ausv' of tho \N'ar with Sjkmi*— Auo<\lott> — Contrv>vorsv with tho (.«ovt>raor — 
hn^rvasiuij INranny , 575 

CHAPTER XUH 

ISIT. Ai'wvsT 

KuuK^r of .• ■ Malta — Komarks «jx>n tho Knglish Mitustors — Tho Fmivrvv's Birth-day — 

Ko»Kt'>o> • — l>li«vlman"s UutV^An«\\U»l»Ns — Tho Quotni of l\ussia — Mahi^ — Interest- 

itt^ '■ Louisii* — Tho Ko*torati».m ol' the BvHjrbons — Dethronement of the SjKuush 

VVi u -Talleyrand — t'owcht> — Oarnot 584 

CHAnHK XUV 
I8n. SsrrKJtBKK. 

l»idtto".-- ■' ' '^- '- <• Holona oh>.x!ten by Wollington — Remarks on Sir Hndsvu* Lowo — S<H4e»y 
oJ' I ^v»— Tht' Maausori^U frwa JJ* Helena — Asunxloie of the lent Horse — Ki>S5s 

Ooti-v,' - ^-><..Huako — Remarks ou the Koistrictioii* — Aristvx-ratio IVide 591 

OHAFVmi XLY. 

l!*n. tX^n»»BR, NOVKSISKK, &ud 1>KCVMBKR 

•IS — The Rostrit.'tivuis relaxed — The IXiko of Reiehstavh deprived of hk IbImt^ 

\ Otis Oou'tiiard of himsett^—libt-ts — ConUiuie«.! Oimos of the Uoxomor — TW 

»»w Hvhist.- 51>T 

CHAPTKR XLYI- 
1818 

8*1 t.\»»Hht»v»\ of the Vn»pewr — Renv»»ks o» the rretK-lk Re\\>tu»io« — O'Meara insulted by Ibe Gt»- 
»nix' ^oon l.ow^ ,t ^— New Instruetioits fr\>tu Lord Bachurst — IXxtnuts 

11^" N ^ V »,>Meari ;o«.l by the Govomor — n*us in the Invasion ol'£i»- 

:o Furv»p«f — IVparture of the B^lcotubes — 
i—E-Ueasioa «rf Liberty — Dr. Stixko^.. 600 



LIST OF UAAJm'liA'nONS. 



XI 



CHAPTER XLVII. 

18 19. 

New OiitragcH — Departure of MwJarn Montholon — Nohic Protcwt — Arrival of Dr, A ritommarchi 
and thf; I'JcclcHUJHticsi — fJoiivcrKatiori with Aritornrnarchi — Th« JJooks arul th*; Portrait — ProtcKt 
of Dr. Antomj/iarchi — fJor«i<;a aM a itctrcat — Amialjility of tlio IJrnperor — The Ancctstry of Na- 
jjol<;orj J-'age (J12 

GHAIIER XLVIJL 
182^). 

New-ycar'» Day — Gardening Operationu — Journal of the orderly Officer — RemarJw on Waterloo 

and the Holy Alliance — Interview with the Dauj^hter of Sir Hudfion lyowe — Scenes at Fontaine- 
hleaii — 'I'hc lOmperor'H filial Airection — Hirfh-day Prc«ent« — Proposal for Escape — AverKion to 
Medicine — I'uhlic WorlcH of the Emperor — The Fiijh-haHin — Death of the PrinccHB Eliza — Ile- 
mark-H on the Divorce — Tltc CIokc of the Year 626 



CHAITEJ;. XIJX. 
1821, .l\Ni:MiY to May. 
'onripletion of llie new IIoubc — Lady Holland — Phrenology — Departure of Buonavita — Pro/rres* 
of the DiKeaHc — Ii<;nriarkH to Dr. Ariiott — The Emperor's Will — Athciem — The la»t Letter — ^The 



Dying-scene — Burial — Departure of the Companions of \apoleon . 



635 



LIST OF ILL USUI ATIONS. 



16, 

17. 
18. 
19 
20. 
21. 
22. 
23. 
24 
25. 

26. 
27. 

28, 



Napoleon's Ilcccplion on hoard the Bel- 29. 

lerophon 13 30. 

Searching the Emperor's Trunks 10 : 31. 

Farewell to France 17 : 32. 

Klehcr Afisassinated 22 33. 

The Trial Shot 24 | 

Napoleon appealing to Gasparin 2.0 i 34. 

Napoleon and Junot 27 I 3.'>. 

The First Dictation 28 30. 

The First Sight of St. Helena 29 37. 

The Northiirnherland and Myrmidon ap- 38. 

proardiing St. Helena 29 39. 

The Rock of St. Helena 31 40. 

Vievif of The Briers 31 ! 41. 

Napoleon's Room 32 42. 

The Emperor and Las Casas at The Bri- 43. 

crs 37 I 44. 

Respect the Burden 40 45. 

Madam Montesquieu and the King of 

Rome 41 40. 

The Infernal Machine 47 47. 

.Najioleon and poor Tohy 50 48. 

Portrait of .losephine 51 49. 

Viev/ of Longwood 50 50. 

Plan of Longwood 58 

Napoleon and the Farmer 01 51. 

The Emperor wounded at Ralisbonne, . 03 

Napoleon descending the Ravine GO 52. 

The Sailors of the Northumberland vis- 53. 

iting their Shipmate 09 54. 

Tfie Drunken Sentinel 72 j 55. 

Battle of Austerlitz 80 50. 

Death of Lannes 81 I 57. 



Page 

Death of Duroc 82 

The Emperor on the Ciiff 84 

Death of .Murat 87 

"Tyrannical Act of a Ueurper" 89 

The English SoIdicrB tsaluting the Em- 
peror . 91 

Napoleon examining the Accounts .... 90 

The Emperor and the Pea;-!ant Woman 100 

The Game of Chess 104 

Portrait of Marshal Nfr 100 

Portrait of the Empress .Mariu. Louisa . Ill 

The Emperor's Return to the Tuilcries 1 15 

Execution of Marslial Ney 118 

The Emperor asleep at Wagram 121 

Portrait of Marshal Soult 123 

The Fanatic of Shoenhrunn 131 

Portrait of Talleyrand 138 

Napoleon receiving the Command from 

the Convention 140 

The Emperor's PuJsidcnce at Elba 144 

Napoleon and Metternich in Council . . 153 

The Emperor crossing Poland 157 

The golden Acorn 159 

" And yet they have dared to say that I 

could not write" 102 

Interview with the Abbe de Pradt at 

Warsaw 105 

The Retreat from Russia 108 

The Bosphorus 170 

The Birth-house of Napoleon 173 

Napoleon's Apartment at Longwood . . 177 

Interview with Sir Hudson T>owe ... 179 

The Return of the Bourfions 182 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



58. The Returned Emigrant IHi 

59. Portrait of Charles Bonaparte, the Fa- 

ther of Napoleon 186 

60. Napoleon and Hoche 189 

61. The Captive and his Jailer 202 

62. Portrait of Louis Bonaparte, the Broth- 

er of Napoleon 209 

63. Portrait of Hortensc, the Daughter of 

Josephine 210 

64. Portrait of Madam Letitia, the mother 

of Napoleon 211 

65. Portrait of Jerome Bonaparte, the Broth- 

er of Napoleon 213 

66. Malmaison 222 

67. Portrait of Carnot 223 

68. Bay of Ajaccio, Coi-.sica 226 

69. Portrait of Lucien Bonaparte, the Broth- 

er of Napoleon 228 

70. Arrest of George Cadoudal 232 

71. The Emperor at Breakfast 262 

72. Interview with the Spanish Princes . . . 266 

73. Torture-room of the Spanish Inquisition . 268 

74. The three Sovereigns at Tilsit 273 

75. The Emperor dictating 276 

76. Scenery at St. Helena 277 

77. The Retreat from Waterloo 278 

78. Napoleon chosen Corporal 288 

79. The Sentinel and the Little Corporal . . 289 

80. Honor to unfortunate Courage 292 

81. The Emperor and Little Tristam . . 297 

82. Portrait of Murat 301 

83. The March through the Desert 316 

84. The Ruins of Egypt 317 

85. The Attack upon the Tuilerics 328 

86. Napoleon descending the Alps 334 

87. Valley at St. Helena 339 

88. The Coronation 348 

''89. The Conflagration of Moscow 363 

90. The Emperor's Bivouac 367 

91. Eylau after the Battle 372 

92. The Emperor in the Wagoner's Shop. 373 

93. The Emperor dictating 388 

94 Portrait of Joseph Bonaparte, the Broth- 
er of Napoleon 393 

95. Napoleon incognito 421 



Page 

96. The Emperor and the Market-woman. 423 

97. Baron Larrey 427 

98. Portrait of Pauline the Sister of Napo- 

leon . 449 

99. The Emperor contemplating Constan- 

tinople 452 

00. The Infernal Machine 462 

01. Napoleon at Montereau 465 

02. The Bomb-shell 476 

03. The Emperor examining the Fortifica- 

tions 485 

04. The Governor and his Aids 504 

05. Arrest of Las Casas 505 

06. Examining the Papers of Las Casas. . 507 

07. The Fall of Moreau 520 

08. Death of Bessieres 521 

09. Death of Poniatowski 535 

10. Interview with Lord Whitworth 556 

11. Napoleon 573 

12. Adieu to O'Meara 610 

13. Napoleon receiving the Portrait of his 

Son 618 

14. The Emperor a Gardener 624 

15. The Emperor Gardening 627 

16. The Fish-basin 629 

17. Portrait of Eliza, the Sister of Bona- 

parte 633 

18. Napoleon with his Wife and Child. . . 634 

19. The embarrassed Interview 635 

20. The new House 636 

21. Chamber of Sickness 640 

22. Napoleon dictating his last Letter . . . 647 

23. The Emperor receiving the Sacrament 

of the Lord's Supper 649 

24. The Storm 651 

25. The Dying-scene 652 

26. Napoleon's Grave 656 

LIST OF MAPS. 

1. Siege of Toulon 26 

2. The Turkish Empire 109 

3. Map of Waterloo 279 

4. St. Helena 290 

5. Lower Egypt and Syria 550 



lAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



CHAPTER I. 



THE VOYAaE. 



The Emperor seeks the Hospitality of England — Doomed to St. Helena — His Trunks searched — 
Removed to the Northumberland, — The Russian Campaign — Adieu to France — Habits on Ship- 
board — Threatening Aspect of the Russian Power — -The French Navy — Captain Wright — Char- 
acter of Kleber and of Desaix — Napoleon at Toulon — -Anecdotes — Napoleon in Italy — Anec- 
dotes — The Little Corporal — Dictation — Approach to St. Helena. 

r\N the 15tli of Jul J, 1815, tlie Emperor Napoleon, pursued as an outlaw 
^ by all the combined monarchs of Europe for the crime of allowing him- 
self to be chosen sovereign of France, and for heroically defending, in that 
capacity, the independence of his country, sought refuge under the protectioi: 
of the laws of Great Britain. He was received by Captain Maitland on 
board the Bellerojphon^ and, with every mark of respect, was conveyed to 
England. The British ministry, trampling upon the English Constitution, 
and regardless of justice and humanity, without any trial, without any judi- 
cial accusation even, condemned the illustrious foreigner to imprisonment for 
life upon the dreary rock of St. Helena. 




rx 



napoleon's reception on board the bellerophon. 

. On the 30th of July, Admiral Keith and Sir Henry Bunbury, under sec- 
retary of state, came on board the Bellerophon, which was then at anchor 



14 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. I. 

in the harbor of Plymouth, and informed the Emperor of his awful doom. 
Napoleon listened patiently to the reading' of the atrocious document, which, 
in contempt of England's boasted laws, sentenced him, without a hearing, to 
the most dreadful punishment, and with calm dignity replied, 

" I am the guest of England, not her prisoner. I have come of my own 
accord to place myself under the protection of English laxci. In my case, the 
government has violated the laws of its omti country, the laws of nations, 
and the sacred duty of hospitality. I jjrotefet against their right to act thus, 
and appeal to British honor." % 

The friends of Napoleon who had accompanied him on hoard the Belle- 
rophon, anticipating a peaceful retreat with their beloved Emperor either in 
l]ngland or America, were almost frantic with grief. Napoleon alone seemed 
calm, though very sad. Arrangements S\j«re eilergetically adopted by the 
English government to collect a squadron to convey the illustrious captive to 
his prison, and to guard him there. 

A.i(gi(st 3. The Emperor was conversing in his cabin with Las Casas. 

"What kind of a place is, St. Helena?" said he. "Is it possible to en- 
dure life upon that island ?" And then he added slowly, in solemn, thought- 
ful tones, "After all, am I quite sure of going there? Is a man dependent 
on others when he wishes that his dependence should cease ?" 

For some time, absorbed in silent anguish, he walked up and down the 
floor of his small cabin, and then continued, 

" My friend, I have sometimes the wish to leave you. And that is not 
very difficult. It is only necessary to create a little mental excitement, and 
I shall soon have escaped. All will be over, and you can then tranquilly 
rejoin your families. This is tlie more easy, since my internal principles do 
not oppose any bar to it. I am of those who conceive that the pains of the 
other world were only imagined as a counterjioise to those inadequate allure- 
ments which are offered to us there. God can never have willed such a con- 
tradiction to his infinite goodness, especially for an act of this kind. And 
what is it, after all, but wishing to return to him a little sooner ?" 

Las Casas, w^ith deep emotion, replied, " Poets and philosophers have said 
that it is a spectacle worthy of the Divinity to see men struggling against 
misfortune. Reverses and constancy have their glory. What will become 
of those who still place their hopes in you ? Besides, who can tell the se- 
crets of time, or dare assert what the future may produce ?" 

" Some of these suggestions have their wxight," the Emperor mournfully 
replied, "but wdiat can we do in that desolate place?" 

" Sire," Las Casas replied, " we will live on the past. There is enough 
of it to satisfy us. Do we not enjoy the life of Csesar and that of Alex- 
ander ?" 

"Be it so," the Emperor replied. "We will write our memoirs. Yes, 
Ave must be employed. Oc^ujjatJ5n_is the scythe ^of^time. ^ After all, a man 
ought to fulfill his destinies ; this is my grand doctrine. Let mine be ac- 
complished." 

From this moment the Emperor was himself again. These unworthy 



1815, August.] THE VOYAGE. 15 

thoughts, so naturally suggested loj anguish and despair, immediately passed 
away entirely and forever. 

The YjiigliBh j)eqple were making great efforts to rescue the Emperor from 
the despotic lawlessness of the ministers, and to bring him under the pro- 
tection of British law. The ministers, to frustrate their endeavors, ordered 
the Belleropho7i to leave the harbor of Plymouth, and to anchor off Start 
Point, Here, upon the rough sea, where there was no shelter, the Emperor 
and his friends were kept waiting the arrival of the NoTthiimherland and her 
convoy, by which they were to be conveyed six thousand miles to St. Helena. 

Axigust 5. The Northumherland, and several frigates filled with soldiers, 
arrived, and Admirals Keith and Cockburn came on board the Belleroj^hon 
to communicate to the Emperor the instructions they had received respect- 
ing his transportation to the island of his imprisonment. The Emperor was 
permitted to take, as the companions of his exile and captivity. Count Las 
Casas and Count Montholon, General Bertrand and General Gourgaud, with 
their families and servants. Dr. O'Meara;- an Irish gentleman, surgeon on 
board the Bellero];)lion., with alacrity volunteered his services as the Emper- 
or's physician. The wives and children of some of these gentlemen, and 
twelve servants of the household, increased the party of exiles to twenty- 
four. 

The English government, refusing to recognize the right of popular suf- 
frage, insisted upon stigmatizing the Emperor Napoleon, the elected monarch 
of France, as a usurper. They therefore ordered that his imperial title should 
never be acknowledged, but that he should be styled General Bonaparte. 
This insult to France, and to her Emperor, Napoleon constantly opposed mtli 
a calm and quiet dignity, which commanded the general respect and admira- 
tion even of his enemies. 

Admiral Sir George Cockburn, who was in command of the squadron, a 
rough sailor, ^without any delicacy of character, is not ashamed to record, 

" I went again to the Belter ophon to examine the baggage of the general, 
and of those who were to accompany him. At this proceeding he was ex- 
tremely indignant. I, however, in conformity with my instructions, caused 
every thing to be inspected before I permitted an article to be sent on board 
the Northumherland. I detained four thousand Napoleons in gold (|20,000), 
which I delivered to Captain Maitland, to be by him transmitted to the Lords 
Commissioners of the Treasury." 

August 7. The Emperor, however, was to-day transferred from the Belle- 
ropJion to the North^cmherland. He appeared calm and even cheerful. He 
requested that the officers of the ship might be introduced to him, and greet- 
ed them with cordiality. At the dinner-table he ate with his accustomed ap- 
petite, and conversed with perfect ease and freedom. Alluding to the Rus- 
sian campaign, he said, 

" I meant only to have refreshed my troops at Moscow for four or five 
days, and then to have marched for Petersburg. But the destruction of 
Moscow subverted all my projects. Nothing could be more horrible than 
this campaign. For several days together it appeared to me as if we were 



16 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. I. 




SEARCHING THE EMPEROR'S TRUNKS 



marching through a sea of fire, omng to the constant succession of villages 
in flames, which arose in every direction as far as the eye could reach. This 
has by some been attributed to the French troops, but it was always done 
by the Russians. Many of our soldiers, however, lost their lives by endeav- 
oring to pillage in the midst of the flames. The cold was so severe, that one 
night, after I had left the army to return to Paris, an entire half of my guard 
were frozen to death." 

The subject of the French navy was introduced. The Emperor said, 

" Before going to Elba, I had made preparations for ha\dng a navy of one 

hundred sail of the line. I had established a conscription for the navy, and 

the Toulon fleet was entirely manned and brought forward by people of this 

description. I ordered them positively to get under weigh and maneuver 



1815, AugTlst.J THE VOYAGE. I7 

every day when the weather would permit, and to stand out occasionally to 
exchange long shots with the English ships. This was much remonstrated 
against by those about me, and cost me, at first, a great deal of money to re- 
pair the accidents which occurred from the want of maritime knowledge, such 
as the ships getting foul of each other, splitting their sails, and springing their 
masts. But even these accidents, I found, tended to improve the crews, and, 
therefore, I determined to continue to pay my money and to oblige them to 
persevere in that exercise." 

"He appeared in good humor," says Admiral Cockburn, "chatted in a 
very good-natured p:iood with every body, and retired to his bed-room appar- 
ently as much at his ease as if he had belonged to the ship all his life." 

August 9. The convoy set sail to-day for St. Helena. As the ships were 
making their way out of the British Channel, the coast of France for a mo- 
ment emerged from the clouds which had concealed it. A spontaneous crv 
of "France! France!" burst from the lips of the grief-stricken exiles. The 
Emperor was silently and thoughtfully walking the deck. He stopped, gazed 
for a moment upon the dim outline of his beloved country, now fading from 
his eyes forever, and then, uncovering his head, bowed to the distant hills, 
and said, with deep emotion, " Land of the brave ! I salute thee ! Farewell ! 
France, farewell!" 

The emotion excited in every heart was electric. Even the English offi- 
cers, moved by this sublime adieu, involuntarily uncovered their heads, re- 
specting the grief of their illustrious captive. 




FAREWELL TO FRANCE. 



The voyage occupied sixty-seven days. The Emperor, as was his custom, 
adopted regular habits for the employment of his time. He breakfasted in 
his room, and passed the day, until five o'clock in the afternoon, in reading 



B 



18 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. I. 

writing, or conversing with those of his companions whom he had invited to 
his cabin. Hs tlien dressed for dinner, and entered the saloon, where he fre- 
tpently amused himself for half an ho^ir Avith a game of chess. At five o'clock 
the admiral came to invite him to dinner. The Emperor had no taste for con- 
viviality, lie had seldom, during his extraordinarily laborious life, allowed 
himself more than fifteen minutes at the dinner-table. He ate very frugally, 
and of the most simple dishes. He Avas not a wine-drinker. The English 
custom of loitering aw^ay hour after hour at the wine was repugnant to him. 
Out of respect to the company, the Emperor remained at the table through 
the regular courses, Avhich lasted for an hour. He theij, after taking a cup 
of coffee, rose 'from his seat and went on deck. As the Emperor retired, the 
Avhole company rose, and continued standing until he had left the room. 
Some one of his suite, in turn, each day, accompanied him to the deck. He 
walked for an hour or two, conversing freely with his friends, and with any 
others whom he happened to encounter on board the ship.* 

August 10. At the dinner-table the subject w^as introduced of the last war 
between England and the United States. 

"Mr. ]\Iadison," said the Emperor, "was too late in declaring war. He 
never made any requisition on France for assistance. I would very readily 
have lent any number„of line-of-battle ships ]Mr. ]\ladison might have desired, 
if American seamen could have been sent to man them and carry them over. 
But the affairs of France beginning to go w^rong about tliat period, it was out 
of my power to afford any other material assistance to the Federal govern- 
ment." 

On another occasion, speaking of the Emperor Alexander, he said, 

" Russia is much to be feared if Poland is not preserved as an independent 
nation, to be a barrier between that empire and the rest of Europe. I do not, 
however, think that Russia will succeed in making Poland an appendage to 
the empire. The Poles are too brave and too determined ever to be brought 
to submit quietly to what they considered a personal disgr^ace and a national 
humiliation. 

" The only object I had in view in my Russian expedition, and all I should 
have asked had I been successful, Avas the independence of Poland. To that 
nation I intended leaving the free choice of their king, only recommending 
Ponifitowski to them as worthy of such distinction. I intended, however, 
to make the Emperor of Russia engage to join firmly in the Continental sys- 
tem against commercial intercourse of any sort Avith England, until its gov- 
ernment should be brought to agree to the independence of the seas.'' 

die day the Emperor entered into conversation with the 7nasier of the 
•vessel, Avhose rank as pilot did not admit him to the society of the admiral 

* Sir George Cockburn records the event in the following terms, characteristic of the man : " Im- 
mediately after dinner to-day, the general got up, rather uncivilly, and vi'ent upon deck as soon as 
he had swallowed his coffee, and before all the rest of us were even served. This induced me to 
request particularly the remainder of the party to sit still ; and he went out attended only by his 
mareschal, without the slightest further notice being taken of him. It is clear he is still inclined to 
act the sovereign occasionally ; but I can not allow it, and the sooner, therefore, he becomes con- 
vinced it is not to be admitted, the better." — Diary of Rear- Admiral Sir George Cockburn, p. 24. 



1815, September.] THE VOYAGE. 19 

and the general officers. Napoleon was much pleased with the character and 
intelligence of the man, and in conclusion said, " Come and dine with me to- 
morrow." 

The astonished -master replied, " The admiral and my captain wiU not Ibe 
Avilling that a master should sit at their table." 

" Very well," answered the Emperor ; " if they do not, so much the worse 
for them. You shall dine with me in my cabin." 

When the admiral rejoined the Emperor, and was informed of what had 
passed, he very courteously remarked that any one invited by General Bona- 
parte to the honor of sitting at his table was, by this circumstance alone, 
placed above all the rules of etiquette. The master was accordingly inform- 
ed that he would be welcome to dinner the next day. This incident, so' 
characteristic of the Emperor, at once won the affection of the whole ship's 
company. 

September 1. The squadron was passing the Cape de Verd islands, though 
not in sight of the land. The Emperor was speaking to the admiral of his 
efforts to supply France with a navy suitable to the importance of its com- 
mercial relations. 

" Unfortunately," said he, " I found nobody who understood me. Dur- 
ing the expedition to Egypt I had cast my eyes on Decres ; his intelligence 
pleased me. I reckoned upon him for understanding and executing my proj- 
ects with regard to the navy. I was mistaken. His passion was to form a 
police, and iind out, by means of the smugglers, every web which your min- 
isters or the intriguers of Hartwell were weaving against me. And then he 
always proceeded on a system of coterie, the navy of Brest against that of 
Toulon ; no enlarged ideas ; always the spirit of locality and of insignificant 
detail paralyzing my views. I was obliged to give myself great trouble in 
order to send a small squadron of frigates to drive your commerce from India 
and from the Antilles. The old routine always obtained the upper hand. I 
should have done you a great deal of mischief had I been obeyed ; but I was 
too much taken up with land affairs to be able to think of the navy other- 
wise than occasionally. What I have done will be known if ever my corre- 
iipondence with Decres is published. I . 

" The navy of Louis XVI. was no longer in existence when I took the 
government into my hands. The republic possessed only four vessels of the 
line. The taking of Toulon, the battle of the River Jenes in 1793, of E,oche- 
fort in 1794, and, finally, the battle of Aboukir, had given the death-blow to 
the navy. Well, notwithstanding the disaster of Trafalgar, which I owe 
solely to the disobedience of Aditiiral Villeneuve, I left to France one hun- 
dred vessels of the line, eighty thousand sailors and soldiers, and all this in 
a reign of ten years, and while I had to struggle with a coalition of the great 
powers of Europe. 

"I ceded to England the sceptre of the seas, but I required that she should 
respect the French flag on the sea, as an Emperor of Austria and of Russia 
had learned from me to respect it on land. The treaty of Paris has destroy- 
ed all that I did for the navy. Centuries will perhaps elapse before my 



20 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChaP. I. 

work is recommenced. Your power on sea no longer experiences any con- 
trol. And if it is true that Louis XVIII. said that he owed his crown to 
the Prince llegent, the latter might say, with as much truth, ' I owe the em- 
pire of the seas to the Count d'Artois, who, at the instigation of Talleyrand, 
signed, without any necessity, the sacrifice of the finest gquadrons France 
ever had.' In short, the treaty of Paris is such a betrayal of the Frenqli in- 
terest, that Louis XVIII. executed it as a thing done, but never ratified it 
with his signature." 

Every day, wdien the weather permitted, the captain of one of the vessels 
of the squadron was invited to dine on board the Nortkmnherland. There 
was a Captain AVright in command of the brig Griffin. 

"Are you a relation,"' inquired the Emperor, "of the Captain Wright 
whom your libclers accuse me of having strangled ?" 

"Yes, sire," he replied; "and I am curious to know the circumstances 
of his death." 

" Well, I will tell you," the Emperor replied. " Captain Wright com- 
manded the brig which, during four months, had been landing, on the steep 
sliores of Biville, the accomplices of Georges, who had already figured in the 
plot of the infernal machine. They concealed themselves by day in farms or 
country houses, forming stations between Paris and the coast. They had a 
great deal of money, paid largely, and easily corrupted poor peasants. One 
named jMakee dc la Fouclie, whom your ministers paid to favor conspiracies, 
but who had sold himself to my police, gave the first information respecting 
these disembarkments, and the secret object of the cruise of Captain Wright's 
brig. 

" I was weary of all these intrigues, and resolved to put an end to them. 
I ordered the records of the police to be brought. One evening, when I was 
turning them over, I remarked, I know not why, the name of a young man 
called Gueral, who was a student of luedicine. I ordered him to be imme- 
diately brought before a council of war, to be Avatched with care, and notice 
(•aken of all his Avords. My foresight was just. He confessed every thing- 
after his condemnation to death, and, in order to gain his pardon, detailed 
all the smallest particular^ of the plot. Savary received orders to proceed 
to the places indicated, accompanied by disguised gens d'armes. He sur- 
prised a party disembarking. At the same time. Captain Wright, a descrip- 
tion of Avliom had been sent to all the different points of the coast, ventured 
to set his foot on land. He was immediately arrested, conducted to Paris, 
and imprisoned in the Temple. 

" I might have had him included in the number of accomplices of Georges, 
and have had him judged and condemned along with them. I did not do it. 
I would have kept him in prison till the peace, but grief and remorse over- 
whelmed him ; he committed suicide. And you English ought to be less 
astonished than any other people at such an occurrence, because, among you, 
suicide is almost a national habit. Your ministers seized this opportunity 
to accuse me of crime, as in the case of Pichegru, although they knew very 
well that Pichcgru's presence before a criminal tribunal would have been a 



1815, September.] THE VOYAGE. 21 

hundred times more advantageous to mj cause than his death. But it mat- 
tered little to them to be false to their own consciences. It was one calumny 
more. 

" Your ministers will not always be able to impose on the English people 
with respect to me. Sooner or later your nation will render me justice, and 
the English will be the first to take my part, and avenge the savage hatred 
of their ministers. Notwithstanding all their libels, I fear nothing for my 
renown. Posterity will render me justice. It will compare the good I have 
done with the faults which I have committed. I do not fear the result. If 
I had succeeded, I should die with the reputation of being the greatest man 
wdio ever existed. From being nothing, I became, by my own exertions, the 
most powerful monarch in the universe, without committing any crimes. If 
crime had been in accordance with my opinions, neither Louis XVIII. nor 
Ferdinand would now reign. Many times have their heads been offered me 
for a price, and their deaths have daily been put forward to me as advisable. 
I refused. I do not regret it. My ambition was great, I confess it, but it 
rested on the opinion of the masses. I have always thought that sovereign- 
ty resides in the people. The Empire, as I had organized it, was but a great 
republic. Called to the throne by the voice of the people, my maxim has 
always been, ' A career ojjen to talent ivithout distinction of hirth.'' And it 
is for this system of equality that the European oligarchy detests me. And 
yet, in England, talents and great services raise a man to the highest rank. 
You should have understood me." 

On another occasion the Emperor was speaking upon the influence of 
chance. "I am well aware," said he, "of the influence which chance usurps 
over our political determinations ; and it is the knowledge of that circum- 
stance which has always kept me free froAi prejudice, and rendered me very 
indulgent with regard to the party adopted by individuals in our political 
convulsions. To be a good Frenchman, or to wish to become so, was all I 
looked for in any one. The confusion of our troubles was like battles in 
the night time, when every man attacks his neighbor, and friends are often 
confounded with foes ; but when daylight returns and order is restored, every- 
one forgives the injury which he has sustained through mistake. 

" Even for myself, how could I undertake to say that there might not have 
existed circumstances sufficiently powerful, notwithstanding my natural sen- 
timents, to induce me to emigrate — the vicinity of the frontier, for instance, 
a friendly attachment, or the influence of a chief? In revolutions we can 
only speak with certainty of what we have done. It is silly to affirm that 
we could not have acted otherwise." 

One day, speaking of Egypt, the Emperor regretted exceedingly that it 
had not remained in the hands of the French. " This would infalHbly have 
been the case," said he, " had the country been defended by Kleber or Desaix. 
These were my most distinguished lieutenants. Both possessed great and 
j-are merits, though their characters and dispositions were very different. 
Kleber's was the talent of nature. Desaix's was entirely the result of edu- 
cation and assiduity. The genius of Kleber was only called forth at partic- 



OO 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. I. 

ular moments, when voiised by the importance of the occasion ; and then it 
immetliately slamLered again in the bosom of indolence and pleasure. The 
talent of Desaix was always in full activity. lie lived only for noble ambi- 
tion and true glory. His character was entirely unique. His death was the 
o-reatest loss I could have sustained. Their conformity of education and 
principles would always have preserved a good understanding between them. 
Desaix would have been contented with a secondary rank, and would have 
remained ever devoted and faithful. Had he not been killed at the battle of 
Marengo, I would have given him the command of the army of Germany, 
instead of continuing it to JMoreau. A very extraordinary circumstance in 
tlie destiny of these two lieutenants was, that on the very day, and at the 
very hour when Kleber was assassinated at Cairo, Desaix Avas killed by u 
uannon ball at IMarongo." 




>A^S1NATF.D 



Speaking of liis early career, the Emperor said, "My success at Toulon 
did not much astonish me. I enjoyed it with a lively satisfaction, unmin- 
o-led with surprise. I was equally happy the folloAving year at Saorgia, where 
my operations were admirable. I accomplished in a few days what had 
been attempted in vain for two years. Vendemiaire, and even Montenotte, 



1815, September.] THE VOYAGE. 23 

never induced me to look upon myself as a man of a superior class. It was 
not till after Lodi that I was struck with the possibility of my becoming a 
decided actor on the scene of political events. Then was enkindled the first 
spark of a lofty ambition." 

September 6. The Emperor related the following anecdote in reference to 
the capture of Toulon : 

" On my arrival at head-quarters, I waited on General Cartaux, a haughty 
man, covered with gold lace from head to foot, who asked me what duty I 
had been sent upon. I presented him with the letter which directed me, un- 
der the general's command, to superintend the operations of the artillery. 

"'This is quite unnecessary,' said the general, twisting his whiskers. 
' We want no assistance to retake Toulon. But still you are welcome. You 
may share the glory of burning the town to-morrow, without having experi- 
enced any of the fatigue.' 

" He invited me to sup with him. A party of thirty sat down at the table. 
The general alone was served like a prince, while every one else was almost 
dying of hunger ; a circumstance which, in those days of equality, strangeh" 
shocked me. The next morning, at break of day, the general took me out in 
his cabriolet, to admire, as he said, the preparations for attack. As soon as 
he had crossed the height, and came within sight of the road and harbor, we 
got out of the carriage and threw ourselves down among some vines. I there 
perceived some pieces of ordnance and some digging, for which it was really 
impossible for me in the slightest degree to account. 

" ' Dupas,' said the general, haughtily, turning to his aid-de-camp, ' are 
those our batteries ?' 

" 'Yes, general,' was the reply. 

" 'And where is our park?' 

" 'There, close at hand.' 

" ' And our red-hot balls ?' 

" ' In yonder houses, where two companies have been employed all the 
morning heating them.' 

" 'But how shall we be able to carry these red-hot balls?' 

" This consideration seemed to puzzle them both completely ; and they 
turned to me to know whether, through my scientific knowledge, I could not 
explain how the thing was to be managed. I should have been much tempt- 
ed to take the whole for a hoax had my interrogators evinced less simplici- 
ty, for the guns were more than a league and a half from the object of attack. 
I summoned, however, to my aid all the gravity I was master of, and en- 
deavored to persuade them, before they troubled themselves about red-hot 
balls, to try the range of the shot with cold ones. After much trouble, I at 
length prevailed on them to try my advice, but not till I had very luckily 
made use of the technical term coiijp d'epreuve, which took their fancy and 
brought them over to my opinion. They then made the experiment, but the 
shot did not reach to a third of the distance required. The general and Du- 
pas then began to abuse the aristocrats, who, they said, had maliciously 
spoiled the powder. 



24 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. I. 




THE TKIAL SHOT. 



" In the mean time, the representative of the people came up on hor6el)ack. 
This -was Gasparin, an intelhgent man, who had served in the army. Pcr- 
t;eivin2; how things were going on, I immediately decided upon the course to 
pursue, and, assuming great confidence of manner, I urged the representative 
to intrust me with the whole direction of the aftair. I exposed,"" without hesi- 
tation, the unparalleled ignorance of all Avho were ahout me, and from that 
moment took upon myself the entire direction of the siege." 

"Cartaux," said Napoleon, "was a man of sucli limited intellect that it 
Avas impossible to make him understand that, to facilitate the taking of Tou- 
lon, it would he necessary to make the attack at the outlet of the road. 
When I sometimes pointed on the map to Little Gibraltar at this outlet, and 
told him there was Toulon, Cartaux suspected that I knew very little of 
geography : and when, in spite of his opposition, the authority of the rep- 
resentative decided upon the adoption of this distant point of attack, the gen- 
eral was haunted with the idea of treasonable designs, and Avould often re- 
mark, with great uneasiness, that Toulon did not lie in that direction. 

"All my disputes with Cartaux usually took place in the presence of his 
wife, who uniformly took my part, saying to her husband, with great naivete, 

" ' Let the young man alone. He knows more about it than you do, for 
ho never asks your advice. Besides, are not you the responsible persori ? 
.Vll the glory will be yours.' 

"This woman," continued Napoleon, "was not without so.ne sliarc of 
srood sense. On her return to Paris, after the recall of her luisband, tlie Jae- 



1815, Septem'ber.] 



THE VOYAGE. 



25 




NAPOLEON APPEALING TO GASPVRIN 



oHns gave a splendid fete. In the course of the evening, the conversation 
happened to fall on the commandant of artillery at Toulon, who was enthu- 
siastically praised. 

" ' Do not reckon on him,' said she ; ' that young man has too much un- 
derstanding to remain long a sans culotte.'' 

" The general exclaimed, with the voice of a stentor, 'Woman Cartaux, 
would you make us all fools, then ?' 

" ' No, I don't say that, my dear ; hut I must tell you he is not one of 
your sort.' 

" We were in possession of the town," continued the Emperor, " before the 
army had scarcely dreamed of it. After taking the Little Gibraltar, which I 
always looked upon as the key of the whole enterprise, I said to old Dugom- 
mier, who was worn out with fatigue, ' Go and rest yourself. We have taken 
Toulon. You may sleep there the day after to-morrow.' When Dugom- 
mier found the thing actually accomplished — when he reflected that the youna: 
commandant of artillery had always foretold exactly what Avould happen, he 
became all enthusiasm and admiration. He was never tired of praising him. 

"It is true," continued Napoleon, "that Dugommier informed the com- 
mittees of Paris that he had with him a young man who merited particular 
notice ; for that, whichever side he might adopt, he was certainly destined to 
throw great weight into the balance. When Dugommier joined the army of 



26 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. L 




the Eastern Pyrenees, he wished to take me with him ; but this he was un- 
able; to do. He, however, spoke of me incessantly. At a subsequent pe- 
riod, when this army was sent to re-cnforce the army of Italy, of which I soon 
after became general-in-chief, I found, on my anival, that, in consequence of 
all Dugommier had said, the officers had scarcely eyes enough to look at me. 

"At tlie army of Nice," said tlic Emperor, "there was a representative 
whose wife was an exceedingly pretty and fascinating woman. She shared 
and even usurped his authority. Both husband and wife became extremely 
fond of me, and treated me in the handsomest manner. This was to me,^T 
that time, during the absence or the inefficiency of the laws, a great advant- 
age. A representative of the people was a man of immense power. I was 
very voung Avhen I first knew this lady. I Avas proud of the favorable im- 
pression I had made on her, and seized every opportunity of showing her at- 
tention. I will mention one circumstance, to show for what trivial causes 
men sometimes abuse the authority on which the fate of their fellow-creatures 
depends, for I am no worse than the rest. I was A^'alking about, one day, 
with the representative's wife, inspecting our positions, when the idea occur- 
red to me of giving her the spectacle of a skirmish, and I ordered the attack 
of an advanced post. We were conquerors, it is true, but tlie,afiair could be 
attended by no advantage. The attack was a mere Avhim, and yet it cost 
the lives of several men. Whenever the memory of that deed recurs to me, 
[ reproach myself bitterly. 

" During the erection of one of the first batteries against the English," con- 
tinued the Emperor, " on my arrival at Toulon, I asked whether there was 
a sergeant or corporal present who could write. A man advanced from the 
ranks, and wrote to my dictation on the epaulement. The note was scarcely 
(mded, when a cannon ball, which had been fired in the direction of the bat- 



1815, September.] 



THE VOYAGE. 



27 




NAPOLEON AND JUNOT. 



teiy, fell near tlie spot, and the paper was immediately covered by the loose 
earth thrown up by the ball. ' Well,' said the writer, ' I shall hare no need 
of sand.' This remark, together with the coolness with which it was made, 
iixed my attention, and made the fortune of the sergeant. This man was. 
.Tunot, afterward Duke of Abrantes. He died the victim of the intemperance 
which destroyed both his health and his reason. 

" On taking the command of the army of Italy," continued the Emperor, 
" Napoleon, notwithstanding his extreme youth, immediately impressed the 
troops with a spirit of subordination, contidence, and the most absolute de- 
votedness. The army was subdued by his genius rather than seduced by 
his popularity. He was, in general, very severe and reserved. During the 
whole course of his life, he uniformly disdained to court the favor of the mul- 
titude by unworthy means. A singailar custom was established in the army 
of Italy in consequence of the youth of the commander, or from some othei 
cause. After each battle, the oldest soldiers used to hold a council and con- 
fer a new rank on their young general, who, when he made his appearance 
in the camp, was received by the veterans and saluted with his new title. 
They made him corjjoircl at Lodi, and sergeant at Castiglione. Hence the 
name of JAttle Corporal, whicli was for so long a time applied to Napoleon 



28 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[ClLU\ I. 

bv the suWlors. How subtile is tlio train which unites the most trivial v'w- 
*. un\stauees to .the most important events I IVrhaps this very nieknanie 
ooutvibuted to las miraeulous sueeess on his return from Elba. AVhile he 
was harannuin*;' the tirst battalion, which he tlnuul it necessary to aiUh-ess, 
a voice lixnu the ranks exdainuHl, ' Long live our Little Corporal, ^^'e will 
never tight against him.' " 

/Sfj^tcmlfi'r \). The Kmpeivr iletcrmineU to beguile the weary hours by 
ilietating a memoir of his camjKiigns. TonUvy he called l^as Casas into his 
eabin, and dictated, for the tirst tinie, some details it>specting the sieg-e of 
Toulon. "AN" hen the Knipeiw," Las Casas afterward wrote, ''commenced 
his daih- dictations, he always complained that the circumstances to which 
he wished to i-ecur weiv no longvr familiar to him. After considering a few 
moments, he would rise and walk about, and then begin to dictate. From 
that moment he was quite another man. Kvery thing tlowed smoothly, lie 
spoke as if bv inspiration. Tlaees, i)hrases, dates — he stopped at nothing.'' 




TBK FI»*T »lCT\TlON 



(h'iobet' 15. (>ii the evening of the 14th the island of St. Helena was clim- 
Iv discerned in the distant horizotu The ship lay to all niglit. The Km- 
{)enir went to the Ik>ws of the ship early the next moniiug, and giv;ievl long 
and in silence upon th« gloomy shores of his prison. As they drewiiearer, 
the blackened cmgs, hove from the ocean by volcanic tires, towered in som- 
bre majesty to the clouds. A straggling village was seen planted upon rocks, 
and surrounded by bleak, precipitous, vervlureless hills. Kvery plattonn 
amono; the rocks, everv ajierture, the brow of every hill, was planted with 
cannon. " I stoo^l Whind him," says La* Casas. " My eyes were c<m- 



THE VOYAGE. 



29 



1815, October.] 

stantly fixed on liis countenance, in wliich I could perceive no change. And 
yet he saw before him perhaps his perpetual prison — perhaps his grave! 
How much then remained for me to*feel and to witness ! The Emperor soon 
left the deck. He desired mc to come to him, and we proceeded to our usual 
occupation." 




THE FIRST SJGHT OF ST. HELENA. 



The vessels of the squadron had been scattered during the voyage, and 
the NortJnnnberlcmd, witli but one accompanying ship, approached the isl- 
and. At noon on the 15th of October, 1815, they cast anchor in the little 
harbor of Jamestown. 




THE NORTH LMBEKLAiND AND MYRMIDON APPROACHING ST. HELENA. 



30 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. II. 



CHAPTEE II. 

liESIDENCE AT THE BRIERS. 

Description of St. Helena — The Ride to Longwood — Description of The Briers — The Youth of 
France — Deplorable Condition of the Exiles — Indignation of the Emperor — Note to the English 
Government — Overtures of the Bourbons — Suppression of the Tribunate — Character of the Sen- 
ate — Anecdotes— Institute of Meudon— Candor of the Emperor — The Malay Slave — Popular Ed- 
ucation — Fatality of the Emperor's Career — Treatment of the Spanish Princes. 

Ox the IGtli of October, in the dusk of the evening, the Emperor landed 
at St. Helena. He had chosen that hour to avoid the gaze of the curious 
crowd. Before leaving the ship, he bade a friendly adieu to the captain, and 
requested liim to convey his thanks to the officers and the crew. The whole 
ship's company assembled, with respectful and friendly feelings, upon the 
gangway and the quarter-deck, to witness his departure. Tears of sympathy 
were in many eyes. In the gloom of the a]:)proacliing night he was rowed 
to the shore, and w' alked through the ctaggy streets of the miserable village 
of Jamestown to a small unfurnished room Avhich had been obtained for him. 
His friends liad brought from the ship liis cfimp bedstead and a few other 
articles of furniture. The inhabitants of Jamestown crowded the streets. 
Sentinels, with their muskets, gaiarded the windows and door of the prisoner. 
The Emperor, weary and sad, soon dismissed his attendants, and Avas left to 
the solitude of his own thoughts. 

St. Helena is one of the most dreary of the rocks of the ocean. Bleak, 
' blackened, storm-battered crags pierce the clouds. Wild ravines, desolate 
and verdureless, wind along among the overhanging cliffs. The island is six 
thousand miles from Europe, and twelve hundred mil'is from the nearest point 
'«f land. The rock is ten miles long and six broad, and every craggy projec- 
tion, every aperture, and the brow of every hill, seemed planted Avith cannon. 
I The island at this time contained about live hundred yihabitants, about two 
\ hundred of AA'hom were S9ldiers. Tliere were also three hundred slaves. The 
\ imprisonment of Napoleon upon the island increased t]ie population to bc- 
\tween four and five thousand. Nearly three thousand soldiers were tlxought 
Vecessary to guard his room, Avhile a squadron of ships, well manned Avith 
sailors and marines, cruised around the shores. 

Octoher 17. At an early hour this morning, the Emperor, accompanied by 
Las Casas and Sir George Cockburn, rode to an elevated plain, called Long- 
wood, fifteen hundred feet above the level of the sea, Avhich he was informed 
had been selected as the place of his future residence. Hardly any thing can 
be conceived more cheerless and repulsive than was the scene here presented. 
A small and dilapidated one-story house, Avhich had originally been a cow- 
shed, but Avhich had Ijcen subsequently fitted uji as a summer retreat for tlie 
governor for a few Avceks during the year, Avas the mansion Avhich Avas to be 



1815, October.] 



RESIDENCE AT THE BRIERS. 



31 






'"'''%\ 







THE ROCK OF ST. HELENA. 



prepared for Napoleon and his twenty-two companions and servants. The 
Emperor gazed sadly and silently upon his awful doom. 

As he was returning, in extreme dejection, to his miseralble lodgings in the 




VIEW OF THE BKIERS 



32 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. II. 

narrow street of Jamestown, where a crowd was continually gazing at his 
window, he pa.^sed a small farm-house, occupying a very solitary position in 
a secluded valley. Eagerly he inquired if he could not obtain accommoda- 
tions there until the dilapidated Imt at Longwood had received those repairs 
which were essential to render it habitable. A very worthy man, ]Mr. Bal- 
combe, resided at this place, Avhich was called The Briers. Though his little 
cottao-e contained but iive rooms, all of wluch were needed for the accommo- 
dation of his family, he cheerfully offered the hospitality of his house to the 
illustrious captive. A few yards from the dwelling-house there was, in the 
<Tarden, a little arbor or summer-house, consisting of one room on the gi'ound 
iloor and two small garrets. Napoleon, unwilling to incommode the family, 
selected this humble room for his abode. 

The room was square, having two doors tricing each other on two of its 
sides, and two windows, one on each of the other sides. These windoA\ 3 
had neither cui-tains nor shutters. As the Emperor took possession of this 
empty apartment, night Avas again darkening over the island. Soon his 
valets brought in his iron bedstead and one or two chairs. It was necessary 
for the Emperor to go out of doors Avhile they Avere preparing his room. At 
last the Emperor retired. Las Casas, with his son, climbed to one of the 
o-arrets, Avhich Avas seven feet square. Tlie two valets, Avrapped in their 
cloaks, slept upon the ground before the doors. Such Avas the first night at 
the Briers. 




The mode of life immediately instituted at the Briers Avas as follows : The 
Emperor rose very early, and took a short AA^alk before his door, and then 
read till breakfast, about ten ox-lock. Las Casas usually breakfasted witl. 
him. Las Casas then read over Avhat had been dictated the preceding day. 
The Emperor corrected the copy, and then continued his dictation until five 



1815, October.] RESIDENCE AT THE BRIERS. 33 

o'clock. The Emperor usually then descended, with his secretary, to the 
lower walk, and, slowly pacing up and down for one hour, engaged in social 
conversation. He was, at such times, very frank and unreserved. At six 
he returned again to his room to dine. Some of his friends were generally 
present, and the conversation was prolonged after dinner until bedtime. 
"The days," says Las Casas, "were very long, and the evenings still lon- 
ger." Occasionally, the Emperor, to beguile an hour of the evening, would 
call in at Mr. Balcombe's and converse with the amiable family. 

October 20. The Emperor invited the son of Las Casas to dine witli him. 
In examining some ancient medals, he requested the young Las Casas to 
translate the inscription. The well-educated lad did it without difficulty. 
Napoleon was highly gratified, and turning to his father, said, 

"What a rising generation I leave behind me! This is all my work. 
The memory of the French will be a sufficient revenge to me. On beholding 
the work, all must do justice to the workman, and the perverted judgment 
or bad faith of declaimers must fall before my deeds. If I had thought only 
of myself and securing my own power, as has been continually asserted, I 
should have endeavored to hide learning under a bushel, instead of which, I 
devoted myself to the propagation of knowledge. And yet the youth of 
Erance have not enjoyed all the benefits which I intended they should. My 
university, according to the plan I had conceived, was a masterpiece in its 
combinations, and would have been such in its national results. But an evil- 
disposed person spoiled all, and in so doing he was actuated by the worst of 
feelings, and, doubtless, by a calculation of consequences." 

October 23. The deprivations and sufferings to which the Emperor was 
exposed were very great, and though he generally endured them in silence, 
he felt them severely. He had but one room,, a few feet square, and he was 
obliged to go out when he had the wretched apartment cleaned. His meals 
were brought to him a mile and a half from Jamestown. Good articles of 
food could not be obtained. He was separated from his friends and servants, 
and their intercourse was interrupted by a vexatious system of passports. 
This morning several of his friends were gathered around him, and all felt 
the oppression of their dreadful lot. The Emperor exclaimed, 

"This is the anguish of death. To injustice , and violence they now add 
insult and protracted torment. If I were so hateful to them, why did they 
not get rid of me ? A few musket balls in my heart or my head woiild have 
been sufficient. There would, at least, have been some energy in the crime. 
Were it not for you, and, above all, for your wives, I would receive nothina- 
from them but the pay of a private soldier. How can the monarchs of Eu- 
rope permit the sacred character of sovereignty to be violated in my person ? 
Do they not see that they are, with their own hands, Avorking their own de- 
struction at St. Helena ? I entered their capital victorious, and, had I cher- 
ished such sentiments, what would have become of them ? They styled me 
their brother, and I had become so by the choice of the people, the sanction 
of victory, the character of religion, and the alliances of their policy and their 
blood. Do they imagine that the good sense of nations is blind to their con^ 

C 



34 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChaP. II. 

duct ? And what do they expect from it ? At all events, make your com- 
plaints, gentlemen. Let indignant Europe hear them. Complaints from me 
would be beneath my dignity and character. I must command or be silent." 

October 24. An English officer gently opened the door of the Emperor's 
single room, and, without further ceremony, entered. His intentions, how- 
ever, were kind. He was about to return to Europe, and came to inquire if 
the Emperor had any commands. The Emperor requested him to communi- 
cate the following sentiments to the British government. Las Casas made 
a memorandum of the glowing remarks thus uttered, and placed them in the 
hands of the British officer : 

" The Emperor desires, by the return of the next vessel, to receive some 
account of his wife and son, and to be informed whether the latter is still liv- 
ing. He takes this opportunity of repeating, and conveying to the British 
government, the protestations which he has already made against the extra- 
ordinary measures adopted toward him. 

" 1st. That government has declared him a prisoner of war. The Emperor 
is not a prisoner of war. His letter to the Prince Regent, which he wrote and 
communicated to Captain Maitland before he went on board iho, BeUero2)h.on^ 
sufficiently proves to the Avhole world the resolutions and the sentiments of 
confidence which induced him freely to place himself under the English flag. 

" The Emperor might, had he pleased, have agreed to quit France only on 
stipulated conditions with regard to himself. But he disdained to mingle 
personal considerations with the great interests with which his mind was con- 
stantly occupied. He might have placed himself at the disposal of the Em- 
peror Alexander, who had been his friend, or of the Emperor Francis, Avho was 
his father-in-law ; but, confiding in the justice of the English nation, he de- 
sired no other protection than its laws afforded, and, renouncing public af- 
fairs, he sought no other country than that which was governed by fixed laws 
independent of private will. 

" 2d. Had the Emperor really been a prisoner of war, the rights which 
civilized governments possess over such a prisoner are limited by the law of 
nations, and terminate with the Avar itself. 

*' 3d. If the English government considered the Emperor, though arbitra- 
rily, as a prisoner of war, the right of that government was then limited l)y 
public law, or else, as there existed no cartel between the two nations during 
the war, it might have adopted toward him the principle of savages, who put 
their prisoners to death. Tliis proceeding would have been more humane, 
and more conformable to justice, than that of sending him to this horrible 
rock. Heath, inflicted on board the Bellerojphon in the Plymouth Roads, 
would have been a blessing compared with the treatment to which he is now 
subjected. 

"We have traveled over the most desolate countries of Europe, but none 
is to be compared to this barren rock. Deprived of every thing that can ren- 
der life supportable, it is calculated only to renew perpetually tlie anguisli of 
death. The first principles of Christian morality, and tliat great duty im- 
posed on man to pursue his fate, whatever it may be, may withhold him from 



-1815, October.] RESIDENCE AT THE BRIERS. 35 

terminating with liis own liand a wretched existence. The Emperor glories 
in being superior to such a feeling. But if the British ministers should per- 
sist in their course of injustice and violence toward him, he would consider 
it a happiness if they would put him to death." 

October 31. In conversation, allusion was made to the report that the Em- 
peror had at one time made proposals to the Bourbons to abdicate the throne 
in his favor, which statement had been widely circulated through Europe. 
The Emperor remarked, 

" The truth is, I never bestowed a thought on the princes. You who 
were abroad seemed to have no idea of the opinions of those at home. Even 
if I had been favorably disposed toAvard the princes, it would not have been 
in my power to carry my intentions into execution. I, however, received 
overtures both from Mittau and London. 

"The king wrote me a letter, which was conveyed to me by Lebrun, who 
had it from the Abbe de Montesquieu, the secret agent of the prince at 
Paris. This letter, which was Avritten in a very labored style, contained the 
following paragraph : 

" ' You delay long to restore me to my throne. It is to be feared that 
you may allow favorable moments to escape. You can not complete the hap- 
piness of France without me, nor can I serve France without you. Hasten, 
then, and specify the places which you would wish your friends to pos- 
sess.' 

"To this the First Consul replied, 'I have received your royal highness's 
letter. I have always felt deep interest in your misfortunes and those of 
your family. You must not think of appearing in France. You could not 
do so without passing over a hundred thousand dead bodies. I shall, how- 
ever, be always eager to do every thing that may tend to alleviate your fate 
or to enable you to forget your misfortunes.' 

" The overtures made by the Count d'Artois possessed still more elegance 
and address. He commissioned, as the bearer of them, the Duchess de 
Guiche, a lady whose fascinating manners and personal graces Avere calcula- 
ted to assist her in the important negotiation. She easily got access to Mad- 
am Bonaparte, with Avhom all the individuals of the old court came natu- 
rally in contact. She breakfasted Avith her at Malmaison, and the couA^ersa- 
tion turning on London, the emigrants, and the French princes. Madam de 
Guiche mentioned that, as she happened, a few days before, to be at the 
house of the Count d'Artois, she had heard some person ask the prince AAdiat 
he intended to do for the First Consul in the event of his restoring the Bour- 
bons, and that the prince replied, 

" ' I would immediately make him constable of the kingdom, and CA'ery 
thing else he might choose. But even that Avould not be enough. AYe 
would raise on the Carrousel a lofty ancl magnificent column, surmounted 
with a statue of Bonaparte croAvning the Bourbons.' 

"As soon as the First Consul entered, AA^hich he did very shortly after 
breakfast, Josephine eagerly repeated to him the circumstance Avhich the 
duchess had related. 



36 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. II. 

" 'And did you not reply,' said her Imsband, ' thai the corpse of the First 
Consul would have been made the pedestal of the column ?' 

" The charming duchess was still present. The beauties of her counte- 
nance, her eyes, and her words, were directed to the success of her mission. 
She said that she was so delighted she did not know how she should ever be 
able sufficiently to acknowledge the favor which Madam Bonaparte had pro- 
cured her, of seeing and hearing so distinguished a man, so great a hero. 
It Avas all in vain. The Duchess de Guiche received orders that very night 
to quit Paris. Tlie charms of the emissary were too well calculated to alarm 
Josephine to induce her to say any thing very urgent in her favor, and the 
next day the duchess was on her way to the frontier. 

"It is, however, absolutely false that I, on my part, made overtures to 
the princes touching the cession of their rights. How was such a thing pos- 
sible ? I, who could only reign by the very principle which excluded them — 
that of the sovereignty of the people — how could I have sought to possess 
througli them rights which were proscribed in their persons ? That would 
have been to proscribe myself. The absurdity would have been too palpa- 
ble, too ridiculous. It would have ruined me forever in public opinion. The 
fact is, that neither directly nor indirectly, at home or abroad, did I ever do 
any thing of the kind. And this will, no doubt, in the course of time, be 
the opinion of all persons of judgment, who allow me to have been neither a 
fool nor a madman. 

" The prcA alence of this report, however, induced me to seek to discover 
what could have given rise to it, and these are the facts which I collected. 
At the period of the good understanding between France and Prussia, and 
while that state was endeavoring to ingratiate herself in our favor, she caused 
inquiry to be made whether France would take umbrage at her allowing the 
French princes to remain in the Pru.ssian territories, to which the French 
government answered in the negative. Emboldened by this reply, Prussia 
next inquired whether we should feel any great repugnance to furnishing 
them, through her medium, with an annual allowance. To this our gov- 
ernment also replied in the negative, provided that Prassia would be respons- 
ible for their remaining quiet, and abstaining from all intrigue. The affair 
being thus set on foot, and the negotiation in train. Heaven knows what the 
zeal of some agent, or even the doctrines of the court of Berlin, which did 
not accord with ours, may have proposed. This furnished, no doubt, the 
motive and pretext, if, indeed, any really existed, for the line letter of Louis 
XVIII. , to which all the members of his family so ostentatiously adhered. 
The French princes eagerly seized that opportunity of reviving the interest 
and attention of Europe, which had been, by this time, totally withdrawn 
from them." 

In fi-ont of Ml-. Balcombe's house there Avas a walk, as will be seen in tlie 
plate, bordered by a few stunted trees. The Emperor frequently descended 
by the steep path to this walk for an hour before dinner. Here he was 
sometimes joined by Mrs. Balcombe and her two little daughters. The serv- 
ants took this opportunity to make his bed and put his room in order. 



1815, November.] RESIDENCE AT THE BRIERS. 




•-x 


^^ 




^■^ 








^? 


'Hit"* 


^ 


^: 


I 






^.\ 


§, 

jfe 


- 


s 




\t^ 


4 


k 


A 


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THE EMPtROR AND LAS CASSAS AT THE BRIEllS. 



Novemher 1. As tlie Emperor was slowly pacing the walk in front of the 
house with Las Casas, the subject of the suppression of the Tribunate was 
introduced. 

"It is certain," said Napoleon, "that the Tribunate was absolutely use- 
less, while it cost nearly half a million. I therefore suppressed it. I was 
well aware that an outcry would be raised against the violation of the law. 
But I was strong. I possessed the full confidence of the people, and I con- 
sidered myself a reformer. This, at least, is certain, that I did all for the 
best. I should, on the contrary, have created the Tribunate had I been 
hypocritical or evil-disposed ; for who can doubt that it would have adopted 
and sanctioned, when necessary, my views and intentions ? But that is what 
I never sought after in the whole course of my administration. I never pur- 
chased any vote or decision by promises, money, or places. And if I ad- 
ministered favors to ministers, counselors of state, and legislators, it was 
because these were things to give away, and it was natural, and even just, 
that they should be dealt out among those whose avocations brought them 
in contact with me. 

"In my time all constituted bodies were pure and irreproachable, and I 
can firmly declare that they acted from conviction. If those bodies were 
condemned, it was by persons who knew them not, or wished not to know 
them ; and the reproaches which were leveled at them must be attributed to 
the discontent or opposition of the time, and, above all, to that spirit of de- 
traction and ridicule which is so peculiarly natural to the French people. 

" The Senate has been much abused. Great outcry has been raised 
against its servility and baseness ; but declamation is not proof. What was 
the Senate expected to do ? To refuse conscripts ? Was it wished that the 
committees of personal liberty and the liberty of the press should have brought 
disgrace upon the government ? The truth is, that we were placed in forced 
and unnatural circumstances. Men of understanding knew this, and accom- 



38 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. II. 

modated themselves to the urgency of the moment. It is not known that, 
in almost every important measure, the senators, before they gave their vote, 
came to communicate to me privately, and sometimes very decidedly, their 
objections and even theu* refusal ; and they went away convinced, either by 
my arguments, or by the necessity and urgency of afltairs. If I never gave 
publicity to tliis fact, it was because I governed conscientiously, and because 
I despised quackery and every thing Hke it. 

" The votes of the Senate were always unanimous, because the conviction 
was universal. Endeavors were made, at the time, to cry up an insignificant 
minority, whom the hypocritical praises of malevolence, together with their 
own vanity, or some other perversity of character, excited to harmless oppo- 
sition. But did the individuals composing that minority evince, in the last 
crisis, either sound heads or sincere hearts ? I once more repeat that the 
character of the Senate was irreproachable ; the moment of its fall was alone 
disgraceful and culpable. Without right, without power, and in violation of 
every principle, the Senate surrendered France and accomplished her ruin. 
That body was the sport of high intrigues, whose interest it was to discredit 
and degrade it, and to ruin one of the great bases of the modern system. It 
may be truly said that they succeeded completely, for I know of no body that 
can be recorded in history with more ignominy than the French Senate. 
However, it is but just to observe, that the stain rests not on the majority, 
and that among the delinquents there was a nuiltitude of foreigners, who will 
henceforth, at least, be indifferent to our honor and interests." 

The incessant annoyances and absurd regulations to which the exiles were 
exposed led the Emperor to request Las Casas to draw up a note upon the 
subject, to be presented to the admiral. The grand marshal. General Ber- 
trand, was commissioned to convey this protest to Sir George Cockburn, and 
to discuss its contents with him. General Bertrand, however, apprehending 
that the note Avould not accomplisli the desired result, ventured not to fulfill 
his mission. A fortnight passed away, when the Emperor learned, to his as- 
tonishment, that the grand marshal had not delivered the note. The dis- 
pleasure of the Emperor was visible, yet he said mildly to General Bertrand, 

" Your not delivering the note, if you were dissatisfied with its tenor, or 
if you regarded it as dictated by an impulse of anger, was a proof of your de- 
votion to my interests. But this should only have been a delay of some 
hours. After this delay, you ought to have spoken to me on the subject. 
You Avell know that I should have listened to you with attention, and should 
ha\'e agreed with your opinions if you had proved to me that you were in the 
right. But to delay a fortnight without telling me that you did not execute 
the mission, this is inexplicable. What have you to reply ?" 

The grand marshal only answered by the respectful assurance that he 
thought that he had done well in not delivering the note, which he disliked, 
both as to its composition and its intention. The Emperor, after a moment 
of profound and silent thought, replied, 

" You are right, Bertrand ! Let these gentlemen make their complaints. 
IMine are beloAV my dignity and my character. I command or am silent." 



1815, November.] RESIDENCE AT THE BRIERS. 39 

November 6-8. The Emperor spoke of the generals of the army of Italy. 
"Massena," said he, "was endowed with extraordinary courage and firm- 
ness, which seemed to increase in excess of danger. When conquered, he 
was always as ready to fight the battle again as though he had been the con- 
queror. Augereau was a cross-grained character. He seemed to be tired 
and disheartened by victory, of which he always had enough. His person, 
his manner, and his language gave him the air of a braggadocio, which, how- 
ever, he was far from being. He was satiated with honors and riches, which 
he had received at all hands and in all ways. Serrurier, who retained the 
manners and severity of an old major of infantry, was an honest and trust- 
worthy man, but a bad general." 

The Emperor could not ride out on horseback unless accompanied by a 
British officer in the capacity of a guard and a spy. Rather than submit to 
such an indignity, he silently relinquished the healthful exercise. Las Casas, 
alarmed in view of the declining health of the Emperor, inquired of the officer 
if it would be necessary for him to observe his instructions literally in case 
•the Emperor merely took a ride round the house. The officer replied that 
his instructions were to follow General Bonaparte whenever he mounted his 
horse, but that he would take the responsibility of allowing him to ride un- 
accompanied in the paths immediately around the house. Las Casas, at the 
breakfast-table, communicated the conversation to Napoleon. He replied, 

" I can not avail myself of the indulgence. It is not conformable with 
my sentiments to enjoy an advantage which may be the means of compromis- 
ing an officer." 

In this decision the Emperor acted with his accustomed wisdom, as well 
as in accordance with his instinctive magnanimity. The officer that very 
evening, much mortified, hastened to inform Las Casas that the admiral had 
ordered him to obey his instructions literally. Las Casas mentioned the in- 
cident to the Emperor. He seemed to have expected it, and mildly replied 
that the horses might as well be returned, as he could have no farther use for 
them. Las Casas could not conceal his indignation at such treatment on the 
part of the admiral, and said, with warmth, " I will go immediately and or- 
der them to be sent back." 

" No, sir," the Emperor replied, with peculiar gTavity of voice ; " you are 
now out of temper. It rarely happens that any thing is done well under such 
circumstances. It is always best to let the night pass over after the offense 
of the day." 

Novemher 10. The Emperor, with his secretary, after his usual task of 
dictation was ended, walked out a short distance toward the town. As he 
was returning, he met Mrs. Balcombe, and a Mrs. Stuart, an English lady, 
about twenty years of age, who was returning from Bombay to England. 
The Emperor conversed with her respecting the manners and customs of In- 
dia, and the inconveniences of a sea voyage. As they were talking, some 
slaves, canying heavy burdens, came along the narrow path. Mrs. Balcombe, 
in rather an angry tone, ordered them to keep back. But the Emperor in- 
terfered in their behalf, saying, 



40 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. ' [ChAP. II. 

"Respect the Lurden, madam." 

Mrs. Stuart, avIio had been attentively observing the Emperor's features, 
exchiimed, in a low tone of voice, to her friend, "What a countenance, and 
what a character! How different from what I had been led to expect!" 



f- 



/(' 




RESPECT THE BUKDEN. 



November 13. "Madam de jMontesquieu," said the Emperor, "was a 
woman of singular merit. Her piety was sincere, and her principles excel- 
lent. She had the highest claims on my esteem and regard. I wanted half 
a dozen like her. I would have given them all appointments equal to their 
deserts. She discharged her duties admirably when with my son at Vienna. 

" The apartments of the young prince at the Tuileries were on the ground 
floor, and looked out on the court. At almost every hour ol the day^ num- 
bers of people Avere looking in at the window in the hope of seeing liim. One 
day, when he Avas in a violent tit of passion, and rebelling furiously against 
the authority of Madam de Montesquieu, she immediately ordered all the 
shutters to be closed. The child, surprised at the sudden darkness, asked 
Maman Quicu, as he used to call her, Avhat it all meant. ' I love you too 
well,' she replied, ' not to hide your anger from the crowd in the court-yard. 
Fou, perhaps, will one day be called to govern aU those people, and what 
would they say if they saw you in such a fit of rage ? Do you think they 
would ever obey you if they knew you to be so wicked ?' Upon Avhich the 
child asked her pardon, and promised never again to give way to such fits ot 
anger. 

" This," the Emperor continued, " was language very different fi'om that ad- 
dressed by M. de Yilleroi to Louis XV. ' Behold all those people, my prince,' 
said he; 'they belong to you. All the men you see yonder are yours.'" 

The Emperor had thought much upon the education of the King of Rome. 
Vox this purpose he had decided on the " Institute of Meudon." There he 
proposed to assemble the princes of the imperial house, particularly the sons 



1815, November.] RESIDENCE AT THE BRIERS. 



41 






<i iii'i '''iiiiiw I' Ml 1 1 mil i'H if If I' II lip I 




MADAM MONTESQUIEU AND THE KING OF ROME. 



of those Ibranclies of the family who had been raised to foTeign thrones. In 
this institution he intended that the princes should receive the attentions of 
private tuition, combined with the advantages of public education. 

" These children," said he, " who were destined to occupy different thrones 
and to govern different nations, would thus have acquired conformity of prin- 
ciples, manners, and ideas. The better to facilitate the amalgamation and 
uniformity of the federative parts of the empire, each prince was to bring 
with him, from his own country, ten or twelve youths about his own age, the 
sons of the first families in the state. What an influence would they not 
have exercised on their return home ! I doubted not but that the princes of 
other dynasties, unconnected with my family, would soon have solicited, as a 
great favor, permission to place their sons in the Institute of Meudon. What 
advantages would thence have arisen to the nations composing the European 
association ! All these young princes would have been brought together early 
enough to obviate the fatal effects of rising passions, the ardor of partiality, 
the ambition of success, the jealousy of love. 

" I wished to have the education of the princes founded on general infor- 
mation, extended views, summaries, and results. They should possess 
knowledge rather than learning, judgment rather than attainments. I pre- 
fer the application of details to the study of theories. Above all, I would 
not have them pursue any particular study too deeply ; for perfection, or too 
great success in certain things, whether in the arts or sciences, is a disad- 
vantage to a prince. A nation will never gain much by being governed 
by a poet, a virtuoso, a, naturalist, a turner, a locksmith." 



42 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. II. 

Speaking of Maria Louisa, the Emperor said, 

" She confessed to me that, when her marriage was first proposed, she 
could not help feeling a kind of tei'ror, owing to the accounts she had heard 
of me from the individuals of her family. When she mentioned these re- 
ports to her uncles the archdukes, who were very urgent for the marriage, 
they replied, ' That was all very true while he was our enemy, but the case 
is altered now.' 

" To atford an idea of the sympathy and good-will with wliich the differ- 
ent members of the Austrian family were taught to regard me, it is sufficient 
to mention that one of the young archdukes frequently burned his dolls, wliich 
he called roasting Napoleon. He afterward declared he would not roast me 
any more, for he loved me very much, because I had given his sister Louisa 
plenty of money to buy him playthings." 

In this connection Las Casas remarks, 

" Since my return to Europe, I have had an opportunity of ascertaining 
the sentiments entertained by the house of Austria toward Napoleon. In 
Germany, a person of distinction informed me that, having had a private 
audience of t]ie Emperor Francis during his tour in Italy in 1816, the con- 
versation turned on Napoleon. Francis spoke of him in the most respectful 
terms. One might almost have supposed, said my informant, that he still 
regarded him as the ruler of France, and that he was ignorant of his captiv- 
ity at St. Helena. He never alluded to him by any other title than the Em- 
peror Napoleon. The Archduke John visited a rotunda, on the ceiling of 
which was painted a celebrated action of which Napoleon was the hero. As 
he raised his head to look at the painting, his hat fell off, and one of his at- 
tendants stooped to pick it up. 'Let it be,' said he; 'it is thus tliat I 
should contemplate the man who is there portrayed.' " 

November 14. "Vanity," said the Emperor, "was the ruin of Marmont. 
Posterity will justly cast a shade upon his character. Yet his heart will be 
more valued than the memory of his career. The conduct of i\.ugereau was 
the result of his want of information and of the baseness of those who sur- 
rounded him ; that of Berthier, of his want of spirit and of the absolute nul- 
lity of character." 

" Berthier," said Las Casas, "lost the best opportunity for rendering him- 
self forever illustrious by frankly rendering his submission to the king, and 
entreating his majesty's permission to withdraw from the world." 

"Yes," the Emperor replied; "but even this step, simple as it was, was 
beyond his power." 

"His talents, his understanding," said Las Casas, "had always been a 
subject of doubt with us. Your majesty's choice, your confidence, your great 
attachment, surprised us exceedingly." 

"Nevertheless," the Emperor replied, "Berthier was not without talents. 
I am far from wishing to disavow his merit, or my partiality for him. But 
his talent and merit were special and technical. Beyond a limited ponit he 
had no mind whatever; and then he was so undecided." 

"He was, notwithstanding," said Las Casas, "full of pretensions and 
pride in his conduct toward us ; he was very harsh and overbearing." 



1815, November.] RESIDENCE AT THE BRIERS. 43 

"Do you think, then," the Emperor added, "that the title of Favorite 
stands for nothing ? But nothing is more imperious than feebleness that 
feels itself protected bj strength. Look at women, for example. 

" Berthier accompanied me in my carriage during my campaigns. As we 
drove along, I examined the order-book and the report of the positions, whence 
I formed my plans and arranged the necessary movements. Berthier noted 
down the directions, and at the first station, or during the first moments al- 
lotted to rest, whether by night or by day, he made out, in his turn, all the 
orders and individual details with admirable regularity, precision, and dis- 
patch. This was the special merit of Berthier. It was most valuable to 
me. No other talent could have made up for the want of it." 

Las Casas records in this place, " And here I must observe, that since I 
have become acquainted with the Emperor's character, I have never known 
him to evince, for a single moment, the least feeling of anger or animosity 
against those individuals who have been most to blame in their conduct to- 
ward him. He gives no great credit to those w^ho distinguished themselves 
by their good conduct ; they had only done their duty. He is not very in- 
dignant against those who acted basely, attributing their conduct, in some 
measure, to existing circumstances, which he acknowledged were of a very 
perplexing nature, and threw the rest to the account of human weakness. 

" He invariably speaks with perfect coolness, without passion, without 
prejudice, and without resentment, of the events and the persons connected 
with his life. He seems as though he could be equally capable of becoming 
the ally of his most cruel enemy, and of living with the man who had done 
him the greatest wrong. He speaks of his past history as if it had occurred 
three centuries ago ; in his recitals and his observations he speaks the lan- 
guage of past ages. He is like a spirit discoursing in the Elysian Fields ; 
his conversations are true dialogues of the dead. He speaks of himself as 
of a third person ; noticing the Emperor's actions, pointing out the faults 
with which history may reproach him, and analyzing the reasons and the 
motives which might be alleged in his justification. 

" He can never excuse himself, he says, by throwing blame on others, 
since he never followed any but his own decision. He may complain, at the 
worst, of false information, but never of bad counsel. He surrounded him- 
self with the best possible advisers, but he always adhered to his own opin- 
ion, and he was far from repenting of so doing. ' It is,' said he, 'the inde- 
cision and anarchy of agents which produce anarchy and feebleness in results. 
In order to form a just opinion respecting the faults produced by the sole 
personal decision of the Emperor, it will be necessary to throw into the scale 
the great actions of which he would have been deprived, and the other faults 
which he would have been induced to commit by those very counsels which 
he is blamed for not having followed.' 

"In viewing the complicated circumstances of his fall, he looks upon things 
so much in a mass, and from so high a point, that individuals escape his 
notice. He never evinces the least symptom of virulence toward those of 
whom it might be supposed he has the greatest reason to complain. His 



44 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. II. 

greatest mark of reprobation, and I have had frequent occasion to notice it, 
is to preserve silence with respect to them whenever they are mentioned in 
his presence. But how often has he not been heard to restrain the violent 
and less reserved expressions of those about him ! 

"'You are not acquahited with men,' he has said to us; 'thej are dif- 
ficult to comprehend, if one wishes to be strictly just. Can they under- 
stand or explain even their own characters ? Almost all those Avho aban- 
doned me would, had I continued to be prosperous, never, perhaps, have 
dreamed of their own defection. There are vices and virtues Avhich depend 
on circumstances. Our last trials were bevond all human streng-th. Besides, 
I was forsaken rather than betrayed. There was more of weakness than 
of perfidy around me. It vxis the denial of St. Peter ; tears and repentance 
are probably at hand. ^Vnd where will you find, in the page of history, any 
one possessing a greater number of friends and partisans ? Who w^as Qver 
more popular and more beloved ? Who was ever moi-e ardently and deeply 
regretted ? Here, from this very rock, on viewing the present disorders in 
France, who would not be tempted to say that I still reign there? The 
kings and princes, my allies, have remained faithful to me to the last ; they 
were carried away by the people in a mass ; and those who Avere around me 
found themselves overwhelmed and stunned by an irresistible whirlwind. 
No ! human nature might have appeared in a more odious light, and I might 
have had greater cause of complaint.' " 

Noveinher 17. The Emperor inquired of Las Casas respecting several offi- 
cers of his household, of whom he had heard unfavorable reports. Las Casas 
affirmed that they had continued, through all changes, to evince an ardent de- 
votion to the Emperor's interests. 

" What do you tell me ?" exclaimed Napoleon, eagerly interrupting him 
while he was speaking of one of them ; " and yet I gave him so bad a recep- 
tion at the Tuileries on my return ! Ah ! I fear that I have committed some 
involuntary acts of injustice. This comes of being obliged to take for gi-ant- 
ed the first story that is told, and of not having a single moment to spare for 
verification. 1 fear, too, that I have left many debts of gratitude in arrear. 
How unfortunate it is to be incapable of doing every thing one's self!" 

Las Casas then alluded to the multitude of courtiers who hastened to meet 
the re-enthroned Bourbons. "Each individual," said he, " sought only to jus- 
tify himself. Your majesty was, from that instant, disavowed and abjured. 
The ministers, the nobles, the intimate friends of your majesty, styled you 
simply Bonaparte, and blushed not for themselves or their nation." 

"Here," said the Emperor, "we see a true picture of our national char- 
acter. We are still tlie same people as our ancestors the Gauls. We still 
retain the same levity, the same inconstancy, and, above all, the same van- 
ity. When shall we exchange this vanity for a little pride ?" 

"Many of the officers of your household," said Las Casas, "belonged to 
the first families, and were men of independent fortune. It was for them to 
have set an example which would have aftbrded us a claim on public esteem." 
^ "Yes," said the l^hnperor; "if all the upper classes had acted in that way, 



1815, NoveraLer.] RESIDENCE AT THE BRIERS. 45 

affairs might have turned out very differently. The old editors of the pub- 
lic journals would not then have indulged in their chimeras of the good old 
times. We should not then have been annoyed with their dissertations on 
the straight line and the curve line ; the king would have adhered honestly 
to his charter ; I should never have dreamed of quitting the island of Elba ; 
the head of the nation would have been recorded in- history with greater hon- 
or and dignity; and we should all have been gainers." 

JS^ovember 18. At five o'clock in the afternoon the Emperor took his ac- 
customed walk in the garden. The conversation turned on the French Rev- 
olution. "I did not know Robespierre," said the Emperor, "but I believe 
him to have been destitute of talent, energy, or system. He was the real 
scajpe-goat of the Revolution, sacrificed as soon as he endeavored to arrest it 
in its course — the common fate of all who, before myself, ventured to take 
that step. The Terrorists and their doctrine survived Robespierre ; and if 
their successes were not continued, it was because they were obliged to bow 
to public opinion. They threw all the blame on Robespierre. But the lat- 
ter declared, shortly before his death, that he was a stranger to the recent 
executions, and that he had not appeared in the committees for six weeks 
previously. 

" While I was in the army of Nice, I saw some long letters addressed by 
Robespierre to his brother, condemning the horrors of the commissioners of 
the Convention, who, as he expressed it, Avere ruining the Revolution by 
their tyranny and atrocities. Cambaceres, who must be good authority on 
subjects relating to that period, answered an inquiry which I one day ad- 
dressed to him respecting the condemnation of Robespierre, ' Sire, that was a 
sentence without a trial ;' adding, that Robespierre had more foresight and 
conception than was generally imagined ; that after he should have succeed- 
ed in subduing the unbridled factions which he had to oppose, his intention 
was to restore a system of order and moderation. ' Some time previous to 
his fall,' added Cambaceres, 'he delivered an admirable speech on this sub- 
ject. It was not thought proper to insert it in the Moniteur, and all trace 
of it is now lost.' 

"I am well acquainted," continued the Emperor, "with his brother, the 
younger Robespierre, the representative to the army of Italy. Had I follow- 
ed him, how different might have been my career I On what trivial circum- 
stances does human fate depend. Some office would doubtless have been as- 
signed to me ; and I might, at that moment, have been destined to attempt 
a sort of Vendemiaire. But I Avas then very yoimg ; my ideas were not fix- 
ed. It is probable, indeed, that I should not have undertaken any task that 
might have been allotted to me. But supposing the contrary case, and even 
admitting that I had been successful, what results could I have hoped for ? 
In Vendemiaire the revolutionary force was totally subdued ; in Thermidor 
it was still raging in its utmost fury and at its greatest height. 

" Public opinion is an invisible and mysterious power which it is impossi- 
ble to resist. Nothing is more unsteady, more vague, or more powerful. 
And capricious as it may be, it is nevertheless just and reasonable more fre- 



46 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [Chap. II. 

quently than is supposed. On Leconiing Provisional Consul, the first act of 
my administration was the banishment of fifty anarchists. Public opinion, 
which had, at first, been furiously hostile to them, suddenly turned in their 
favor, and I was forced to retract. But some time afterward, these same an- 
archists, having shown a disposition to engage in plots, were again assailed 
by that very public opinion, which had now returned to support me. Thus, 
through the errors that were committed at the time of the restoration, popu- 
larity was secured to the regicides, who, but a moment before, had been pro- 
scribed by the great mass of the nation. 

" It belonged to me to shed a lustre over Louis XVI. in France, and to 
purify the nation of the crimes with which it had been sullied by frantic acts 
and unfortunate fatalities. The Bourbons, being of the royal family and 
coming from abroad, merely avenged their own private cause, and augmented 
the national opprobrium. I, on the contrary, being one of the people, should 
have raised the character of the nation by banishing from society, in her 
name, those whose crimes had disgraced her. This was my intention, but I 
proceeded prudently in the fulfillment of it. The three, expiatory altars of 
St. Denis were but a prelude to my design. The Temple of Glory on the 
site of the ]Madeleine was to have been devoted to this object with still 
greater solemnity. There, near the tomb, and over the very bones of the 
political victims of our revolutions, human monuments and religious ceremo- 
nies would have consecrated their memory in the name of the French people. 
This is a secret that was not known to above ten individuals, though it Avould 
have been necessary to communicate a hint of the design to those who might 
have been intrusted with the an-angement of the edifice. I sliould not have 
executed my scheme in less than ten years ; but what precautions had I not 
adopted ! how carefully had I smoothed every difficulty, and removed every 
obstruction ! All would have applauded my design, and no one would have 
suffered from it. So much depends on circumstances and forms, that, in my 
reign, Carnot would not have dared to "write a memorial boasting of the death 
of the king, though he did so under the Bourbons. I should have leagued 
with public opinion in punishing him, though public opinion sided wnth him 
in rendering him unassailable." 

Novemher 28. The Emperor alluded to the numerous conspiracies which 
had been formed against liim. " A hundred furious Jacobins,"* said he, "the 
real authors of the scenes of September and of the 10th of August, had re- 
solved to get rid of the First Consul. For this purpose they invented a fif- 
teen or sixteen pound howitzer, which, on being thrown into the carriage, 

* The Jacohin Club, the most celebrated and powerful of all political sects, originated in France 
in 1789, under the denomination of the Breton Club, because it was established by the representa- 
tives from Brittany. Its numbers rapidly increased, and it assumed the more comprehensive name 
of The Fncnds of the People. Soon, however, their violent measures arrested the attention of 
France and of Europe, and they were universally known by the name of the place where they as- 
sembled, which was called the " Hall of the Jacobins," in the Rue St. Honore. It was so called be- 
cause it belonged to some Dominican friars, who were thus denominated after their patron saint. 
In the meridian of its power, this society had twenty thousand affiliated clubs scattered through 
France. In its decay it took the name of the Sucictc du Manege, from the Manege, or Riding House, 
where it lield its sittings. 



1815, November.] RESIDENCE AT THE BRIERS. 47 

would explode by its own concussion, and liurl destruction on every side. 
To make sure of their object, they jjroposed to lay caltrops along a part of the 
road, which, by suddenly impeding the horses, would, of course, render it im- 
possible for the carriage to move on. The man who was employed to lay 
down the caltrops, entertaining some suspicions of the job which he had been 
set upon, as well as of the good intentions of his employers, communicated 
the business to the police. The conspirators were soon traced, and were ap- 
prehended near the Garden of Plants, in the act of trying the effect of the 
machine, which made a terrible explosion. The First Consul, whose policy 
it was not to divulge the numerous conspiracies of which he was the object, 
did not give publicity to this, but merely imprisoned the criminals. He soon 
relaxed his orders for keeping them in close confinement, and they were al- 
lowed a certain degree of liberty. In the same prison in which these Jacobins 
were confined, some E-oyalists were also imprisoned for an attempt to assas- 
sinate the First Consul by means of air guns. These two parties formed a 




THE INFERNAL MACHINE. 



48 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. II. 

league together ; aiul the RojaHsts transmitted to their friends out of prison 
the idea of the infernal machine, as Ibeing preferable to any other ])lan of de- 
struction. 

"It is remarkable that, on the evening of the catastrophe, the Emperor ex- 
pressed an extreme repugnance to go out. ]\Iadam Bonaparte and some in- 
timate friends absolutely forced him to go to the Oratorio. They roused him 
from a sota, where he was last asleep. One brought him his sword, and an- 
other his hat. As he drove along in his carriage he fell asleep again, and 
awoke suddenly, saying that he had dreamed that he was drowning in the 
Tagliamento. The illusion, however, w^as but momentary. A dreadful ex- 
plosion immediately ensued. ' We are blown up !' exclaimed the First Con- 
sul to Lannes and Bessieres, who were in the carriage with him. They pro- 
posed immediately to make arrests, but he desired them not to be too hasty. 
The First Consul arrived safe, and appeared at the Opera as though nothing- 
had happened. He was preserved by the desperate driving of his coachman. 
The machine injured only a few individuals who closed the escort." 

Novemher 29. There was working in Mr. Balcombe's garden a poor old 
slave named Toby. He was a Malay Indian, and had been torn from his 
home by the crew of an English vessel, and sold at St. Helena. His counte- 
nance was frank and benevolent, and his Avhole appearance prepossessing. 
The Emperor became deeply interested in the story of his misfortunes, and 
made unavailing efforts to purchase his freedom and restore him to Iiis coun- 
try. When walking in the garden, the Emperor frequently stopped at Toby's 
hut, and entered into conversation with him, through an interpreter. The 
poor slave became exceedingly attached to the Emperor, always greeted him 
with a smile, and ever spoke of him as the good gentleman. He knew him 
by no other name. 

"Poor Toby," said Napoleon one day, "has been torn from his family, 
from his country, from himself, and sold. Can there be greater misery foi 
him, or a greater crime in others ? If this crime be the act of the English 
captain alone, he is doubtless one of the vilest of men ; but if it be that, of 
the whole of the crew, it may have been committed by men perhaps not so 
base as might be imagined, for vice is always individual, scaixely ever col- 
lective. Joseph's brethren could not bring themselves to slay him, while 
Judas, a cool, hypocritical, calculating villain, betrayed his master. A phi- 
losopher has affirmed that men are born wicked. It Avould be A-ery difficult 
and idle to attempt to discover whether the assertion be true. This, at least, 
is certain, that the great mass of society is not evil-disposed; for if the ma- 
jority were determined to be criminal and to violate the laws, who would 
have the power to restrain or prevent them ? This is the triumph of civili- 
zation, for this happy result springs from its bosom and arises out of its na- 
ture. Sentiments are, for the most part, traditionary. We feel them be- 
cause tliey Avere felt by those avIio preceded us. Thus we must look to the 
development of the human reason and faculties for the only key to social or- 
der, the only secret of the legislator. 

"Only tliose who wish to deceive the people, and rule them for their own 



1815, November.] RESIDENCE AT THE BRIERS. 49 

selfish advantage, would desire to keep them in ignorance, for the more they 
are enlightened, the more they will feel convinced of the utility of laws, and 
of the necessity of defending them, and the more steady, happy, and pros- 
perous will society become. If, however, knowledge should ever be danger- 
ous in the multitude, it can only be when the government, in opposition to 
the interests of the people, drives them into an unnatural situation, or dooms 
the lower classes to perish for want. In such a case, knowledge would in- 
spire them with a spirit to defend themselves or to become criminal. 

"My code alone, from its simplicity, has been more beneficial to France 
than the whole mass of laws which preceded it. My schools and my sys- 
tem of mutual instruction are preparing generations yet unknown. Thus, 
during my reign, crimes were rapidly diminishing, while, on the contrary, 
with our neighbors in England, they have been increasing to a frightful, de- 
gree. This alone is sufficient to enable one to form a decisive judgment of 
the respective governments. 

" Look at the United States, where, without any apparent force or eifort, 
every thing goes on prosperously, every one is happy and contented, and 
this is because the public wishes and interests are, in fact, the ruling power. 
Place the same government at variance with the will and interests of its in- 
habitants, and you would soon see what disturbance, trouble, and confusion, 
and, above all, what an increase of crime would ensue. 

" When I acquired the supreme direction of affairs, it was wished that I 
might become a Washington. Words cost nothing; and, no doubt, those 
who Avere so ready to express the wish did so without any knowledge of 
times, persons, places, or things. Had I been in America, I would willing- 
ly have been a Washington, and I should have had little merit in so being, 
for I do not see how I could reasonably have acted otherwise. But had 
Washington been in France, exposed to discord within and invasion from with- 
out, I would have defied him to have been what he was in America, or, if he 
had attempted it, he would have been but a simpleton, and would only have 
prolonged the existence of evil. For my own part, I could only have been 
a crowned Washington, It was only in a congress of kings, in the midst 
of kings yielding or subdued, that I could become so. Then, and then only, 
I could successfully display Washington's moderation, disinterestedness, and 
wisdom. I could not reasonably attain to this but by means of the univer- 
sal dictatorship. To this I aspired. Can that be thought a crime ? Can 
it be believed that to resign this authority would have been beyond the 
power of human nature ? vSylla, glutted with crimes, dared to abdicate, pur- 
sued by public execration. What motive could have checked me, who would 
have been followed only by blessings ? But it remained for me to conquer 
at Moscow. How many will hereafter regret my disasters and my faUI 
But to require prematurely of me that sacrifice for which the time had not 
arrived was a vulgar absurdity, and for me to have proclaimed or promised 
it would have been taken for hypocrisy and quackery. That was not my 
way. I repeat it, it remained for me to conquer at Moscow." 

On another occasion, pausing before Toby, he said, 

D 



50 



NAPOLEOxN AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. II. 



" What, after all, is tins poor human machme ? There is not one whose 
exterior form is like another, or whose internal organization resembles the 
rest ; and it is by disregarding this truth that we are led to the commission 
of so many errors. Had Toby been a Brutus, he would have put himself 
to death ; if an ^sop, he would now, perhaps, have been the governor's ad- 
viser ; if a Christian, ardent and zealous, he would have borne his chains in 
the siglit of God, and blessed them. As for poor Toby, he thhiks of none 
of this. He stoops and works in tranquilHty." 




^APOLEON \ND POOR lOBY 



After contemplating him a few moments in silence, the Emperor turned 
away, saying, 

"It is certain that there is a wide distance between poor Toby and King 
Richard. And yet," he continued, as he walked thoughtfully along, " the 
crime is not the less atrocious, for tliis man, after all, had his fimily, his 
enjoyments, his liberty. It was a horrible act of cruelty to bring him here 
to die, under the fetters of slavery." Then, suddenly stopping, he said to 
Las Casas, 

" But I read in your eyes that you think he is not the only example of 
the sort at St. Helena. My dear friend, tlierc is not the least resemblance 
here. If the outrage is of a higher class, the victims also furnish very dit- 
ferent resources. We have never been exposed to corporeal sufferings, or, 
if that had been attempted, we have souls to disappoint our tyrants. Our 
situation may even have its charms. The eves of the universe are fixed 
upon us. We are martyrs in an immortal cause. Millions of human beings 
are weeping for us. Our country sighs, and glory mounis our fate. We 
here struggle against the oppression of the gods ; and the prayers of nations 
are for us." After a pause of a few seconds, he continued, 

" Besides, this is not tlie source of my real sufferings. If I considered 
only myself, perhaps I should have reason to rejoice. Misfortunes are not 
without their heroism and their glory. Adversity was wanting to my career. 



1815, November.] RESIDENCE AT THE BRIERS. 5i 

Had I died on the throne, enveloped in the dense atmosphere of my power, 
I should, to many, have remained a problem ; but now, misfortune will en- 
able all to judge me without disguise. " \ 

A medical gentleman of much distinction was one day presented to the 
Emperor at the Briers. In the course of conversation, Napoleon remarked, 

" I have no faith in medicine. My own remedies are starvation and the 
warm bath. At the same time, I have a higher opinion of the medical, or, 
rather, surgical profession, than of any other. The practice of the law is too 
severe an ordeal for poor human nature. He who habituates himself to the 
distortion of truth, and to exultation at the success of injustice, will at last 
hardly know right from wrong. So it is with politics ; a man must have a 
conventional conscience. Of ecclesiastics too much is expected, and they 
consequently become hypocrites. As to soldiers, they are cut-throats and 
robbers, and not the less so because they are ready to send a bullet through 
your head if you tell them your opinion of them. But the mission of sur- 
geons is to benefit mankind, not to mystify, destroy, or inflame them against 
each other. They have opportunities of studying human nature as well as 
of acquiring science." 

Mr. Balcombe had a daughter Elizabeth, a mirthful, fun-loving girl of 
twelve or thirteen years, who became quite a favorite of the Emperor. She 
many years afterward, when a married woman, Mrs. Abell, published a nar- 
rative of what she could remember of her childish interviews with the Em- 




POETEAIT OF JOSEPHINE. 



52 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [Chap. III. 

percr. " On one occasion," she writes, "Madam Bertrand produced a min- 
iature of the Empress Josephine, which she showed to Napoleon. He gazed 
at it with the greatest emotion for a considerable time withovit speaking. At 
last he exclaimed, it was the most perfect likeness he had ever seen of her, 
and told Madam Bertrand he would keep it, which he did, till his death. 
He has often looked at my mother for a length of time very earnestly, and 
then apologized, saying that she reminded him so much of Josephine. Her 
memory appeared to he idolized by him, and he was never weary of dwelling 
on her sweetness of disposition and the grace of her movements. 

"'She Avas,' said the Emperor, 'the most truly feminine woman I have 
ever known. She was the most amiable, charming, and affable woman in 
the Avorld. She was the goddess of the toilet. All fashions originated witli 
her. Every thing she appeared in seemed elegant ; moreover, she was so 
humane — she was the best of women. Although the Bourbons and the En- 
glish allow that I did some good, yet they generally qiuilify it by saying that 
it was chiefly through the instrumentality of Josephine. But the fact was 
that she never interfered with politics. Nothing could have induced me to 
listen to such a measure as the divorce but political motives. No other rea- 
son could have persuaded me to separate myself from a wife whom I so ten- 
derly loved. But I thank God that she died in time to prevent her from 
witnessing my last misfortunes.'" 

A tent had been pitched adjoining the Emperor's single room, which some- 
what enlarged his accommodations. When the weather was mild and dry, 
he frequently had his dinner-table spread in the tent, and the French gentle- 
men dined with him. 



CHAPTER III. 

REMOVAL TO LONGWOOD. 



Waterloo — Dangers of Military Commanders — Portraiture of Napoleon's Generals — The Spanish 
Princes — Political Prospects of France — Defense of Marshal Ney — Contrast between Ney and 
Turenne — Removal to Longwood — The Emperor's Apartments — Kmdness of the Emperor — Po- 
litical Views — The Emperor's Wounds — Calumnies. 

December 5. The weather had now become cold and very damp, and the 
Emperor was confined most of the time to his comfortless room. On this 
day, as the weather did not permit the usual walk after dinner, the conver- 
sation was continued at the table after the dishes were removed. 

" The fate of a battle," observed the Emperor, " is the result of a moment 
— of a thought. The hostile forces advance with various combinations. They 
attack each other, and fight for a certain time. The critical moment an'ives ; 
a mental flash decides, and the least reserve accomplishes the object. At 
Waterloo, had I followed up the idea of turning the enemy's right, I should 
easily have succeeded. I preferred, hoAvever, to pierce the centre and sepa- 
rate the two annies. But all was fatal in that engagement. It even assumed 
the appearance of absurdity. Yet I ought to have gained the victory. Nev- 



1815, December.] REMOVAL TO LONGWOOD. §3 

er li6,d any of mj battles presented less doubt to my mind. I am still at a 
loss to account for what happened. Grouchy had lost himself. Ney appear- 
ed bewildered. Derlon was useless. If, in the evening, I had been aware of 
Grouchy's position, and could have thrown myself upon it, I might, in the 
morning, with the help of that fine reserve, have repaired my ill success, and, 
perhaps, even have destroyed the allied force by one of those miracles, those 
turns of fortune, which were familiar to me, and which would have surprised 
no one. But I knew nothing of Grouchy, and, besides, it was not easy to 
act with decision among the wrecks of the army. It would be difficult to 
imagine the condition of the French army on that disastrous night. It was 
a torrent dislodged from its bed, hurling away every thing in its course." 

Then turning the subject, he said, " The dangers incurred by the military 
commanders of ancient times are not to be compared with the perils which 
attend generals of our day. There are no positions in which a general may 
not now be reached by artillery. But anciently a general ran no risk except 
when he himself charged, which Cajsar did only twice or thrice. 

" We rarely find combined together all the qualities necessary to consti- 
tute a great general. The object most desirable is that a man's judgment 
should be in equilibrium with his physical character or courage. This is 
what we may call being well squared both by base and perpendicular. If 
courage be in the ascendency, a general will rashly undertake that which he 
can not execute ; on the contrary, if his character or courage be inferior to 
his judgment, he will not venture to carry any measure into effect. The sole 
merit of the Viceroy Eugene consisted in this equilibrium of character. This, 
however, was sufficient to render him a very distinguished man. 

"With respect to physical courage, it was impossible for Murat or Ney 
not to be brave ; but no man possessed less judgment than the former in par- 
ticular. As to moral courage, I have rarely met with the two /lOurs after 
irddnight kind. I mean unprepared courage — that which is necessary on an 
unexpected occasion ; and which, in spite of the most unforeseen events, leaves 
full freedom of judgment and decision. I do not hesitate to declare that I 
am eminently gifted with this two hours after midnight courage. In this 
respect I have met with but few persons who were equal to me. An incor- 
rect idea is generally formed of the strength of mind necessary to engage in 
one of those great, battles, on which depends the fate of an army or a nation, 
or the possession of a throne. Generals are rarely found eager to give bat- 
tle. They choose their positions ; establish themselves ; consider their com- 
binations ; but then commences their indecision. Nothing is so difficult, and, 
at the same time, so important as to know when to decide. 

" Kleber was endowed with the highest talent, but he was merely the man 
of the moment. He pursued glory as the only road to happiness. But he 
had no national sentiment, and he could, without any sacrifice, have devoted 
himself to foreign service. He commenced his youthful career among the 
Prussians, to whom he continued much attached. Desaix possessed, in a 
very superior degTce, the important equilibrium above described. Moreau 
scarcely deserved to be placed in the first rank of generals. In him Nature 



54 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. III. 

had left her Avork unfinished. He possessed more instinct than genius. In 
Lannes courage first predominated over judgment. But the latter was ever}' 
day gaining ground, and approaching equilibrium. He had become a very 
able commander at the period of his death. I found him a dwarf, but I lost 
liim a giant. 

" I know the depth, or what I call the draught of water, of all my gener- 
als. Some will sink to the waist, some to the chin, others over the head; 
but the number of the latter is very small, I assure you. Suchet was one 
whose courage and judgment had been surprisingly improved. ]\Iassena was 
a very superior man, and, by a strange peculiarity of temperament, he pos- 
sessed the desired equilibrium only in the heat of battle. It was created in 
the midst of danger.'' 

December G. The Emperor passed the morning, as usual, in dictation. 
Some gentlemen called, Avith whom he had a long conversation. After they 
had withdraAAHi, he descended, with Las Casas, to the lower walk. His 
countenance expressed dejection and trouble. 

" Well," said he, " we are to have sentinels under our windows at Long- 
wood. They wished to force me to have a foreign officer at my table and in 
my drawing-room. I shall not be able to mount a horse without being ac- 
companied. In a Avord, Ave shall not be able to do any thing Avitliout being 
exposed to insult."' 

"This,"' said Las Casas, "was not the treatment the Spanish princes ex- 
perienced at Valencay, or the Pope at Fontainebleau." 

" Certainly not," said the Emperor. " The princes hunted and gave balls 
at Valen9ay Avithout being physically aware of their chains. They experi- 
enced respect and courtesy at all hands. Old King Charles IV. removed 
from Compiegne to IMarseilles, and from ^Marseilles to Rome, AvhencA'er he 
wished. And yet liOAV difterent are those places from this ! The Pope at 
Fontainebleau, whatever may have been the reports circulated in the world, 
AA'as ti-eated in the same manner. And yet how many persons, in spite of all 
the indulgences AAhich he enjoyed, refused to be appointed to guard him ! a 
circumstance which gaA'e me no offense, for I thought it perfectly natural. 
Such employments are subject to the influence of delicacy of feeling. Our 
European manners require that poAver shoidd be limited by honor. For my 
OAvn part, I should, as a private man and an officer, Avithout hesitation, have 
refused to guard the Pope, whose remoA'al to France Avas never ordered by 
lue."' 

Perceiving that Las Casas manifested some surprise at this statement, he 
added, 

" You are astonished ; you did not know this ; but it is nevertheless true, 
as well as many other similar facts, which you will learn in course of time. 
But, in reference to the subject upon which avc have just been speaking, it is 
necessary to distinguish the conduct of the sovereign, who acts collectively, 
from that of the priA-ate man, whose sentiments are without constraint. Pol- 
icy permits, nay, CA'en pardons in the one what Avould be unpardonable in the 
other." 



1815, December.] REMOVAL TO LONGWOOD. 55 

December 9. A ship arrived bringing newspapers from Europe doAvn to 
tlie'15th of September. The Emperor read them with intensest interest, and 
remarked, in reference to the news which they contained, 

" Three great events present themselves to the imagination, the Division 
of France, the Reign of the Bourbons, or a NeiD Dynasty. Louis XVIIL 
might easily have reigned in 1814 by rendering himself a national monarch. 
Now, there remains to him but the chance, very odious and very uncertain, 
of excessive severity, a reign of terror. His dynasty may be permanently 
established, or that which is to succeed him may still be in the secret of fu- 
turity." 

" The Duke of Orleans," said some one, " may be called to the throne." 

" The Duke of Orleans," the Emperor replied, "will never wear the crown 
in the course of succession. It is the well-understood interest of all the sov- 
ereigns in Europe to prefer me to the Duke of Orleans coming to the throne 
by crime. For what is the doctrine of kings against the events of the pres- 
ent day ? Is it to present a renewal of the example which I furnished against 
what they call legitimacy? But the example which I have set can not be 
renewed in ages, but that which the Duke of Orleans would give — near rel- 
ative of the monarch on the throne — may be renewed daily, hourly, in every 
country. There is no sovereign who has not in his palace, and about his 
person, cousins, nephews, brothers, and other relations, ready to pursue a 
course which one day or other may cause them to be deposed." 

These same papers contained a memorial of the defense urged in justifica- 
tion of Marshal Ney. 

" The defense is most pitiable," said the Emperor. " It is not calculated 
to save his life, and by no means to maintain his honor." 

In the defense the marshal's devotion to the king and estrangement from 
the Emperor were strenuously affirmed. 

"An absurd plan," said Napoleon, "but one which has been generally 
adopted by those who have figured in the present memorable times, and who 
seem not to have considered that I am so entirely identified with our prodi- 
gies, our monuments, our institutions, and all our national acts, that to sep- 
arate me from them is to do violence to France. The glory of France is to 
acknowledge me ; and in spite of all the subtlety, evasion, and falsehood that 
may be employed to prove the contrary, my character will still be fairly es- 
timated by the French nation. 

" The political defense of Ney was all clearly defined. He was swept 
away by a general movement which appeared to him to be the will, and for 
the welfare of the country. He yielded without premeditation and without 
treason. Reverses followed, and he found himself cited before a tribunal. 
There remained nothing more for him to say upon the great event. As to 
the defense of his life, he had nothing to say except that he was protected 
by a solemn capitulation, which guaranteed to every individual silence and 
oblivion with respect to all political acts and opinions. Had he pursued that 
line of defense, and were his life, nevertheless, to be sacrificed, it would be, 
in the face of the whole world, a violation of the most sacred laws. He 



56 



NAPOLEON AT ST HELENA. 



[Chap. III. 



would leave behind liim the recollection of a glorious character, canying to 
the grave the sympathy of every generous mind, and covering those with 
reprobation and infamy who, in detiance of a solemn treaty, shamefully 
abandoned him. But this enthusiasm is probably beyond his moral strength. 
Ney is the bravest of men; there end all his faculties." 

The Emperor then instituted a comparison between the situation of Ney 
and that of Turenne. " In 1649," said he, " Turenne commanded the royal 
army, which command had been conferred on him by Anne of Austria, the 
regent of the kingdom. Though he had taken the oath of fidelity, he bribed 
his troops, and declared himself for the Fronde, and marched on Paris ; but 
when he was declared guilty of high treason, his repentant army forsook him, 
and Turenne took refuge with the Prince of Hesse to avoid the pursuit of 
justice. 

" Ney, on the contrary, was urged by the unanimous wish and outcry of 
his army. But nine months had elapsed during which he had acknowledged 
a monarch who had been preceded by six hundred thousand foreign bayo- 
nets — a monarch Avho had not accepted the Constitution presented to him by 
the Senate as the formal and necessary condition of his return, and Avho, 
by declaring that he had reigned nineteen years, proved that he regarded all 
preceding governments as usurpations. Ney, whose education had taught 
him to respect the national sovereignty, had fought for five-and-twenty years 
to support that cause, and from a private soldier had raised himself to the 
rank of a marshal. If his conduct on the 20th of March Avas not honorable, 
it was at least explicable, and in some respects pardonable. 

" But Turenne was absolutely criminal, because the Fronde was the ally 
of Spain, which was then at war Avith his sovereign, and because he had 
been prompted by his own interest and that of his family, in the hope of ob- 
taining a sovereignty at tlie expense of France, and, consequently, to the 
prejudice of his country." 




VIEW OF l.O.NGUOOD. 



December 10. The cottage at Longwood was now prepared for the captive 



1815, December.] REMOVAL TO LONGWOOD. 57 

and his accompanying friends. The Emperor was consequently this day, 
much to his regret, removed to this bleak and cheerless abode. He, howev- 
er, appeared in cheerful spirits, and manifested no discontent. Many persons 
were assembled on the road to see him pass. As he rode along, his gracefiil 
figure and handsome countenance attracted much attention. When he ar- 
rived at the entrance of his dreary jail-yard, a guard, under arms, rendered 
the prescribed honors to the august prisoner. It was about four o'clock in 
the afternoon when the Emperor entered his new residence, where he was 
doomed to endure five and a half years of mortal agony, and then to die. 
He beckoned to Las Casas to follow him to his sleeping-room. Examining 
various articles of furniture, he inquired if his secretary was similarly pro- 
vided. Upon being answered in the negative, he insisted that Las Casas 
should take the articles, saying, in the kindest manner, 

"Take them. I shall want for nothing. I shall be better taken care of 
than you." 

The accompanying cut "will give the reader an idea of the house at Long- 
wood, and of the plan of the rooms. The entrance was through a hall, which 
answered the double purpose of an antechamber and a dining-room. This 
hall opened into the drawing-room. Beyond this was a dark room, with but 
one small window, originally intended for the Emperor's books and maps, 
but which subsequently was converted into a dining-room. The Emperor's 
chamber opened into this room on the right. 

His apartments consisted of two rooms, A and B, each fifteen feet long 
and twelve broad, and seven feet high. An indifferent carpet covered the 
floors, and pieces of nankeen were hung along the rough and unsightly 
walls. The bed-room contained the little camp bed in which the Emperor 
slept, and the couch on which he reclined the greater part of the day. The 
couch was usually covered with books. Beside the couch stood a small 
table, on which the Emperor breakfasted and dined when he took his meals 
in his own room, and on which, in the evening, was placed a candlestick 
with three branches. Between the two windows stood a chest of drawers, 
containing the Emperor's linen, and on the top of which stood his large 
dressing-case. Over the fire-place hung a very small glass, together with sev- 
eral pictures. In one corner of the room stood a large silver wash-basin, 
which the Emperor brought from the Elysee. On the riglit was a portrait 
of the King of Rome sitting on a lamb. On the left, as a pendant to it, there 
Avas another portrait of the young prince sitting on a cushion, and putting 
on a slipper. Lower down Avas a small marble bust of the King of Rome. 
Two candlesticks, two scent-bottles, and two cups of silver-gilt completed 
the decoration of the chimney-piece. At the foot of the couch, and directly 
in view of the Emperor, hung a portrait of Maria Louisa holding her son in 
her arms. The large silver watch of Frederick the Great, which was taken 
at Potsdam, hung on the right of the chimney. A small bathing-closet was 
attached to this room. 

In the second room, B, Avliich served as a sort of study, along the walls 
next the windows were several rough shelves, supported on brackets, 011 



58 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. III. 



which were scattered a great numher of books and manuscripts. Between 
the two windows was a book-case. On the opposite side stood another 
camp bedstead; on this the Emperor sometimes reposed in the daytime, 
when fatigued with dictating or walking about alone in his chamber. He 
occasionally, also, laid down upon it when he rose from the other in his fre- 
quent sleepless nights. In the middle of the room .stood the writing-table, 
with marks indicating the places usually occupied by the Emperor and hi< 



amanuenses during his dictations 



PLAN 




This plan is an exact copy of one drawn by young Las Casas, first for his mother, and afterward inclosed to Maria 
Louisa in a letter which was intercepted. 

A. The Emperor's bed-room -.—a. Small iron camp bedstead, on which the Emperor slept.— ft. Sofa, on which the 
Emperor sat a great part of the day, turned toward the fire-place.— c. Small table, upon which the Emperor's break- 
fast was served. He often made my father come to it, particularly when he took his Enfjlish lessons.— </. Chest of 
drawers between two windows. — e. Fire-place, over which are suspended two portraits of the Empress and five of thi- 
King of Rome, one of which was embroidered by Maria Louisa; also a small marble bust of him. — /. Large ewer, 
brought from the Elysee. 

B. Study : — g. Library. — h. Second small bed. When the Emperor could not sleep, he removed from one bed to 
the other.— i. Table on which the Emperor wrote :— 1. The Emperor's place.— 2. That of my father.— 3. Myself, to 
whom he dictated the campaigns of Italy. Each of us had our particular department, and different hours of study. 

C. Closet, where the valet de chambre attended : — j. Bath, in which the Emperor bathed when there was not a 
scarcity of water. 

D. Dining-room :—l. Place of the Emperor.— 2. My father's.— 3. My own. —4. Montholon.— 5. Gourgaud.- 6. Mad- 
am Montholon. Count and Countess Bcrtrand, living in another house at some distance from Longwood, only cami- 
to dine on Sundays. After dinner, which never lasted more than from fifteen to eighteen minutes, the Emperor dis- 
missed all his attendants, exercising his English by telling them to " go out, go to supper." lie would then turn to 
us, and ask us if we wished to visit the theatre, upon which I was sent to the library for a book ; this the Emperor 
generally read aloud. One of our great authors was always chosen, generally Corneille, Racine, or Moliere. When 
the readmg was over, he withdrew to his bed-room. If he read till eleven o'clock or midnight, he considered him- 
self fortunate, and called this a victory over time. 

E. My father's bed-room ; — 1. His bed. —2. My own. The room was so small that there was scarcely spac- 
enough for two chairs. 

F. Our study :— 1. My father's desk.— 2. Table, on which I wrote to you, my mother.— 3. Table, on which Ali. 
the Emperor's valet, frequently transcribed for my father.- 4. Sofa, on which my father lay a great part of the day. 
These rooms are so low that you can touch the ceilings with your hands ; they are covered with tarred paper, li 
the sun were shining, we were almost suffocated ; if it rained, we were almost drowned. How often have my fathir 
and I walked about here till a late hour, talking of you, my mother ! 

K. Small parlor, with a little table upon which the Emperor often played chess before sitting down to dinner. 

L. Antechamber and waiting-room for visitors. M. Library. 

N. Tent, where the Emperor often breakfasted in fine weather and dictated during the day. 

O. Servants' Hall. P. Court-yard, always muddy. Q. Kitchen. 

R. First apartment of my father. S. Room of General Gourgaud. T. Room of the orderly officer. 

U. Lodgings of Dr. O'Meara. V. Apartments of Count Montholon. X. Chamber for our servant. 

The second establishment of the grand marshal was four hundred yards from Longwood. 

General Bertrand, wife, and children were placed in a little hut, called 
Hut's Gate, two miles distant from Longwood. A tent was spread for Gen- 
eral Gourgaud, and another for Doctor O'IMeara. The house was sun-ound- 
ed by bleak and uncultivated grounds, without shade-trees or flowers, which 
by courtesy were called the gatrlen. In front of the house, and separated 



1815, December.] REMOVAL TO LONGWOOD. 59 

from it "by a deep ravine, was encamped the fifty-third regiment of British 
troops. Parties of these troops were continually posted on all the surround- 
ino- heights. Such were the accommodations prepared for the captive Em- 
peror of France. 

The imperial household now consisted of the Emperor, Count Las Casas 
and son. Count Montholon, wife, and child, Count Bertrand, wife, and three 
ciiildren. Baron Gourgaud, and fourteen servants, three of whom were at- 
tached to the family of Count Bertrand at Hut's Gate. 

" Our new residence," says Las Casas, " was fitted up with a bathing- 
machine, which the admiral had ordered the carpenters to prepare in the best 
way they could. The Emperor, who, since he quitted Malmaison, had been 
obliged to dispense with the use of the bath, which to him had become one 
of the necessaries of life, expressed a wish to bathe immediately, and direct- 
ed me to remain with him. The most trifling details of our new establish- 
ment came once more under consideration, and as the apartment which had 
been assig-ned to me was very bad, the Emperor expressed a wish that, dur- 
ing the day, I should occupy what he called his topographic cabinet, which 
adjoined his own private closet, in order, as he said, that I might be nearer 
to him. I was much afiected by the kind manner in which all this was 
spoken. He even went so far as to tell me that I must come the next morn- 
ing and take a bath in his machine ; and when I excused myself on the ground 
of the respect and the distance which it was indispensable should be observed 
between us, 

*' 'My dear Las Casas,' said he, 'fellow-prisoners should accommodate 
each other. I do not want the bath all day, and it is no less necessary to 
you than to me.' 

" One would have supposed," continues Las Casas, " that he wished to 
indemnify me for the loss I was about to sustain in being no longer the only 
individual about his person. This kindness delighted me, it is true, but it 
also produced a feeling of regret. The kindness of the Emperor was doubt- 
less the reward of my assiduous attentions at the Briers, but it also gave me 
cause to anticipate the close of that constant intercourse with him for which 
I had been indebted to our profound solitude. The Emperor, not wishing 
to dress again, dined in his own chamber, and desired me to remain with 
him." 

December 19. The conversation turned upon the inspection of letters un- 
der the government of Napoleon. The Emperor remarked, " The system of 
examining letters was adopted with the view of preventing, rather than dis- 
covering, dangerous correspondence. Since the reign of Louis XIV., there 
has existed an ofiice of political police for discovering foreign correspondence ; 
and since that period, the same family have managed the business of the 
office, though the individuals and their .functions were alike unknowji. It 
was, in all respects, an official post. The persons superintending this de- 
partment were educated at great expense in the different capitals of Europe. 
They had their own peculiar notions of propriety, and always manifested 
great reluctance to examine French domestic correspondence. This matter, 



60 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ClIAP. III. 

howe'^er, remained entirely at their own discretion. As soon as the name of 
any individual was entered upon the lists of this important department, his 
arms and seals were immediately engraved at the office, and with such a de- 
gree of accuracy that the letters, after being read, were closed up and deliv- 
ered without any marks of susjDicion. These circumstances, joined to the 
serious evils they might create, and the important results they were capable 
of producing, constituted the vast responsibility of the office of postmaster 
general, and required that it should be filled by a man of prudence, judgment, 
and intelligence. 

"I am by no means favorable to the system of inspecting correspondence. 
With regard to the diplomatic information therein obtained, I do not consid- 
er it of sufficient value to counterbalance the expenses incun-ed, which Averc 
$120,000 annually. As to the examination of the letters of citizens, I regard 
that as a measure calculated to do more harm than good. It is rarely that 
conspiracy is carried on through such channels. And Avith respect to the in- 
dividual opinions obtained from epistolary correspondence, they may be more 
dangerous than useful to a sovereign, particularly among such a people as the 
French. Of whom will not our national volatility and fickleness lead us to 
complain ? The man whom I may have offended at my levee will write to- 
day that I am a tyrant, though but yesterday he overwhelmed me with praises, 
and perhaps to-morrow will be ready to lay down his life to serve me. The 
violation of the privacy of correspondence may therefore cause a prince to 
lose his best friends by wrongfully inspiring him with distrust and preju- 
dice toward all, particularly as enemies capable of mischief are ahvays suf- 
ficiently artful to avoid exposing themselves to that kind of danger. Some 
of my ministers were so cautious in this respect, that I could never succeed 
in detecting one of their letters. 

" Upon my return from Klba, numerous letters and petitions were found 
in which the Emperor Avas spoken of most indecorously. They would have 
formed a most odious collection. For a moment I entertained the idea of 
inserting some of them in the Moniteur. They Avould have disgraced certain 
individuals, but they Avould have afforded no ncAV lesson on the human heart ; 
men are always the same." 

December 20. The Emperor, after breakfast, mounted his horse for a ride. 
He directed his course toward some cultivated fields called the farm. The 
farmer, an intelligent ICnglishman, accompanied the Emperor on horseback 
over the Avliole of the grounds. " The Emperor," says Las Casas, " asked 
him a number of questions respecting his farm, as he used to do during his 
hunting excursions in the neighborhood of Versailles, Avhere he discussed 
Avith the farmers the opinions of the Council of State, in order to bring forth 
to the council, in their turn, the objections of the farmers." 

December 22. Las Casas records, " In our melancholy situation, every 
day brought Avitli it some new cause of uneasiness. AVe Avere constantly re- 
ceiving some new sting, Avhicli seemed the more cruel, as Ave Avere destined 
to endure it for a long futurity ; yet, lacerated as our feelings undoubtedly 
Avere, each fresh Avound Avas not the less sensibly felt. The motives which 



X815. December.] 



REMOVAL TO LONGWOOD. 



61 




NAPOLEON AND THE FAKMER. 



were assigned for our vexations frequently amounted to irony. Thus sen- 
tinels were posted beneath the Emperor's windows and before our doors; 
and this, we were informed, was for our own safety. We were cut off from 
all communication with the inhabitants of the island ; we were put under a 
kind of close confinement ; and we were told that this was done to free the 
Emperor from all annoyance. The passwords and orders were incessantly 
changed. We lived in the continual perplexity and apprehension of being 
exposed to some unforeseen insult. The Emperor, whose feelings were 
keenly alive to all these things, resolved to write to the admiral through the 
medium of Count Montholon. 

" 'Let not the admiral suppose,' said he, 'that I treat with him on any 
of these subjects. Were he to present himself to me to-morrow, in spite of 
my just resentment, he would find my countenance as serene, and my tem- 
per as composed as usual. This would not be the effect of dissimulation on 
my part, but merely the fruit of experience. I remember that Lord Whit- 
worth once filled Europe with the report of a long conversation that he had 
held with me, scarcely a word of which was true. But that was my fault. 
It taught me to be more cautious in future. The Emperor has governed too 
long not to know that he must not commit himself to the discretion of any 
one who may have it in his power to say falsely. The JE'niperor told me so 
and so, while the Emperor may not have the means of either affirming or 
contradicting the statement. One witness is as good as another. It is nec- 
essary, therefore, to employ some one who may be enabled to tell the nar- 
rator that he speaks false, and that he is ready to set him right, which the 
Emperor himself can not do.' " 

December 24. The Emperor was reading a publication in which he was 
represented as speaking in a very amiable strain. " How could they put 
these words into my mouth," said he. "This is too tender, too sentimental 
for me. Every body knows that I do not express myself in that way." 



62 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. III. 

" Sire," said Las Casas, " it was done with a good intention. That rep- 
utation for amiahilitj which you seem to despise might have exercised great 
influence over public opinion." 

"What is the advantage," the Emperor repHed, "of popularity and ami- 
ability of character? Who possessed the qualities in a more eminent de- 
cree than the unfortunate Louis XVI. ? Yet what was his fate ? His life 
was sacrificed. No ; a sovereign must serve his people with dignity, and 
not make it his chief study to please them. The best mode of winning their 
love is to secure their welfare. Nothing is more dangerous than for a sov- 
ereign to flatter his subjects. If they do not afterward obtain every thing 
they want, they become irritated, and fancy that promises have been broken ; 
and if they are then resisted, their hatred increases in proportion as they 
consider themselves deceived. A sovereign's first duty is, doubtless, to con- 
form with the wishes of the people. But what the people say is scarcely 
ever Avhat tliey wish. Their desires and their wants can not be learned from 
their own mouths so well as they are to be read in the heart of their prince. 

" Each system may, no doubt, be maintained — that of mildness as well 
as that of severity. Each has its advantages and disadvantages ; for every 
thing is mutually balanced in this world. If you ask me what was the use 
of my severe forms and expressions, I shall answer, to spare me the pain of 
inflicting the punishment I threatened. What harm have I done, after all ? 
What blood have I shed ? Who can boast that, had he been placed in my 
situation, he could have done better ? What period of history, exhibiting 
any thing like the difficulties with which I was surrounded, presents such 
harmless results ? What am I reproached "s^■ith ? ]\Iy government papers 
and my private archives were seized, yet what has there been found to pub- 
lish to the Avorld? x\ll sovereigns situated as I was, amid fjxctions, disor- 
ders, conspiracies, are surrounded by murders and executions ; yet, during 
my reign, what sudden tranquillity pervaded France ! " 

December 25. As the Emperor was dressing for dinner, Las Casas being 
present, he put his hand on his left thigh, where there was a deep scar, and 
said that it was the mark of a bayonet wound, by which he had nearly lost 
his limb at the siege of Toulon. 

" ]\Lany persons," said he, " have wondered at my good fortune, which ren- 
dered me, as it were, in^adnerable in so many battles. They were mistaken ; 
the only reason was, that I made a secret of all my dangers. I had three 
horses killed imder me at the siege of Toulon. I had several killed or wound- 
ed in the campaigns of Italy. I have been wounded several times. At the 
battle of Ratisbonne a ball struck my heel. Ki the battle of AVagram a ball 
tore my boot and stocking, and grazed the skin of my left leg. I lost my 
horse and hat at Arcis sur Aube. I have been frequently exposed to danger 
in my different battles, but it was carefully kept secret. I enjoined, once 
for aU, the most absolute silence on all circumstances of that nature. It 
would be impossible to calculate the confusion and disorder which might have 
resulted from the slightest report or smallest doubt relative to my existence. 
On my life depended the fate of a great empire, and the whole policy and 



REMOVAL TO LONGWOOD. 



63 



1815, December.] 

destinies of Europe. This habit of keeping circumstances of that kind secret 
has prevented me from relating them in my campaigns, and, indeed, they are 
now almost forgotten. It is only by mere accident, and in the course of con- 
versation, that they can recur to me." 





THE EMPEROR WOUNDED AT RATISBONNE. 



December 2*^. Las Casas records, "An Englishman whom we frequently 
saw confessed to Napoleon, with the utmost humility of heart, and, as it 
were, by way of expiation, that he had to reproach his conscience with hav- 
ing once firmly believed all the abominable falsehoods related of him. He had 
given credit to aU. the accounts of stranglings, massacres, and brutal ferocity — 
in short, he even believed in the deformities of his person, and the hideous 
features of his countenance. ' And how,' said he, ' could I help crediting aU 
this ? Our publications were filled with these statements. They were in 
every mouth. Not a single voice was raised to contradict them.' 

" ' Yes,' said Napoleon, smiling, ' it is to your ministers that I am indebt- 
ed for these favors. They inundated Europe with pamphlets and libels 



g4 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. III. 

against me. Perhaps they mav say in excuse that they did but respond to 
those which they received from France ; and it must in justice be confessed, 
that those Frenchmen who have since been seen to exult over the niins of 
their country, felt no hesitation in furnishing them with such articles in 
abundant supplies. 

" ' Be this as it may, I was repeatedly urged, during the period of my 
power, to adopt measures for counteracting this underhand work. But I 
always declined it. What advantage should I have gained by such a de- 
fense? It would have been said that I had paid for it, and that would only 
have discredited me still more. Another victory, another monument ; these, 
I said are the best, the only answers I can make. Falsehood passes away 
and truth remains. The sensible portion of the present age, and posterity in 
particular, will form their judgment only from facts. Is it not so ? Already 
the cloud is breaking. The light is piercing through, and my character grows 
clearer every day. It will soon become the fashion in Europe to do me 
justice. Those who have succeeded me possess the archives of my adminis- 
tration and police, and the records of my tribunals. They hold in their pay 
and at their disposal those who must have been the executors and the accom- 
plices of my atrocities and crimes. Yet what proofs have they brought for- 
ward ? What have they made known ? 

" ' The first moments of fury being passed away, all honest and sensible 
men will render justice to my character ; none but the stupid or the malicious 
will be my enemies. I may rest at ease. The succession of events, the dis- 
putes of opposing parties, their hostile productions, will daily clear the Avay 
for the correct and glorious materials of my history. And wliat advantage 
has been reaped from the immense sums which have been paid for libels 
against me ? Soon every trace of them will be obliterated, while my institu- 
tions and monuments Avill recommend me to the remotest posterity. Now, 
however, it is too late to heap abuse on me. Calumny has exhausted all its 
venom upon my person ; it can no longer hurt me ; there is. notliing left to 
02)erate against mc but the poison of Mlthridates.''''' 

December 30. Las Casas makes the following pleasing record of the events 
of this day : 

" The Emperor desired to be called before eight o'clock. While he dress- 
ed, I finished reading to him the newspapers which I had begun to examine 
the day before. AVhen dressed, he himself went to the stables, asked for 
his horse, and rode out with me alone, his attendants not being yet quite 
ready. We rode on at random, and soon arrived in a field Avhere some labor- 
ers were engaged in plowing. The Emperor alighted from his horse, seized 
the plow, and, to the great astonishment of the man who was holding it, he 
liimself traced a furrow of considerable length. He ao;ain mounted, and con- 
tinned his ride through various parts of the neighborhood, and Avas joined 
successively by General Gourgaud and the a;rooms. 

" On his return, the Emperor expressed a wish to breakfast under a tree 
in the garden, and desired us to remain with him. During the ride he had 
mentioned a little present that he intended for us. ' It is a trifle, to be sure,' 



1815, December.] REMOVAL TO LONGWOOD. 65 

said lie, ' Ibut every tiling must be proportioned to circumstances, and to me 
this is truly the loidoio's mite.'' He alluded to a monthly stipend which he 
had determined to settle upon each of us. It was to be deducted from an in- 
considerable sum which we had contrived to secrete in spite of the vigilance 
of the English, and this sum was henceforth Napole'on's sole resource. It 
may well be imagined how precious this trifle liad become. I seized the first 
moment, on finding myself alone with him, to decline his intended bounty. 
He laughed at this, and, as I persisted in my resolution, he said, pinching 
my ear, ' Well, if you do not want it now, keep it for me ; I shall know 
where to find it when I stand in need of it.' 

"After breakfast the Emperor went in-doors, and desired me to finish read- 
ing the newspapers. I had been some time engaged in reading, when M. de 
Montholon requested to be introduced. He had just had a long conversation 
with the admiral (Sir Greorge Cockburn), who was very anxious to see the 
Emperor. I was directed to suspend my translations from the newspapers, 
and the Emperor walked about for some time as though hesitating how to 
proceed. At length, taking up his hat, he went into the drawing-room to 
receive the admiral. This circumstance afforded me the highest satisfac- 
tion, for I knew that it was calculated to put a period to our state of hostil- 
ity. I was well assured that two minutes' conversation with the Emperor 
would smooth more difficulties than two days' correspondence with any one 
else. 

"Accordingly, I was soon informed that his convincing arguments and ami- 
able manners had produced the wished-for effect. I was assured that on his 
departure the admiral appeared enchanted. As for the Emperor, he was very 
well pleased at what had taken place. He is far from disliking the admiral; 
he is even somcAvhat prepossessed in his favor. 

" 'You may be a very good seaman,' said the Emperor to him, 'but you 
do not understand our situation. We ask for nothing. We can maintain 
ourselves without all these annoyances and privations. We can provide for 
om-selves; but still, our esteem is worth the obtaining.' 

"The admiral referred to his instructions. 'But,' replied the Emperor, 
' you do not consider the vast distance that intervenes between the dictation 
and the execution of these instructions. The very individual who issues 
them in a remote part of the world, would oppose them if he saw them carried 
into execution. Besides, it is certain that, on the least difference, the least 
opposition, the slightest expression of public opinion, the ministers would 
disavow their instructions, or severely blame those who had not given them 
a more favorable interpretation.' 

" The admiral conducted himself wonderftiUy well. The Emperor passed 
high praises on him. All asperities were softened down, and good under- 
standing prevailed. It was agreed that the Emperor should henceforth free- 
ly ride about the island, and that the officer who had been instructed to at- 
tend him should merely watch him from a distance, so that the Emperor 
might not be offended with tlie sight of a guard ; that visitors should be ad- 
mitted to the Emperor, not with the permission of the admiral as the inspect- 

E 



(>G 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[ClIAP. III. 



or of Lono-wooJ, but -with that ot" the gvaiul mav.-^hal avIio did the honors ot" 
the osrablishmout. 

" To-day our littk^ oohMiy Avas increased bv the arrival of Captain Piont- 
kowskv, a native ot' l\ihuid. lie was one of those individual-^ whom Ave had 
left behind us at riyniouth. His devotedness to the Kniperor, and his grief 
at being separated t'roni him, had subdued the severity of the English minis- 
ters, and he reeei\ ed permission to proceed to St. Helena." 

The Emperor went out Avith some of his companions for a ride on horse- 
back. In attempting to descend a a cry steep and deei)ly-fun-OAved valley, 
thcA' Avere compelled to dismount. CJeneral Ciourg-jiud and the tAVO grooms 
turned otf Avith the horses, Avhile Napoleon and Las Casas continued their 
ruo-o-ed and piveipitous journey on foot. The Emperor found much trouble 
in clambcriuiij; over the ridges, and lamented the loss of his youthful activity. 
riiCA" at last ti'Ot into a morass, Avhere the Emperor found himself sinking in 
the mud, and he AA'as compelled to creep out, Avith sadly soiled garments, 
upon his hands and feet, lie looked for a mon\ent in silence upon his be- 
spattered boots, and then said, 

" Las Casas, this is a dirty adventure. If Ave had been lost in the nnid, 
what Avould haA'O been said in Europe ? The hypocrites AA'Ould have proved 
beyond a doubt that Ave had been sAvalloAved up for our crimes."' 




NAPOLEOK DESCBNDISO THE RA.VINB. 



1816, January.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 67 



CHAPTER lY. 

1816, January. 

New-year's Day — Fowling-pieces — Colonel Wilks — The Disappointment — Visit to the Rooms — 
The drunken Sentinel — Social Reading — Goldsmith's Secret History — Conversation with Gov- 
ernor Wilks — Lodgings of Las Casas — The Emperor's Criticisms — Historical Remarks — The 
Ride — Mired Horse. 

January 1. All the exiles of Longwood assembled at ten o'clock in the 
morning to present the compliments of the season to the Emperor. He re- 
ceived them with great kindness, accepted affectionately those congratula- 
tions which were blended with the intensest sympathy, and invited them all 
to breakfast and spend the day with him. 

"We are but a handful," said he, "in one comer of the world, and all our 
consolation must be our regard for each other." 

Notwithstanding the efforts which all made to appear cheerful, the gloom 
of the opening year settled heavily upon their hearts, and it was to them all 
a day of sadness. Some fowling-pieces belonging to the Emperor, and which 
had been detained by the admiral, were to-day returned to him. The Em- 
peror remarked that they .were quite useless, as rats were the only game to 
be found at Longwood. There were two or three guns, also, belonging to 
individuals of the Emperor's suite. These were also returned, but only on 
condition that they should be' sent every evening to the tent of the English 
officer on duty. The French gentlemen, of course, refused to receive them 
on terms so degrading. As the exiles were guarded by armed sentinels, and 
surrounded by a regiment of English soldi^-s, and hemmed in by impregna- 
ble fortifications, and blockaded by several ships of war, the admiral, after 
much hesitation, ventured to intrust them with the dangerous weapons. 

January 3. Las Casas was invited to dine with Governor Wilks at Plan- 
tation House. Governor Wilks was superseded in his authority by Admiral 
Cockburn. He was soon to return to Europe. He lived in genteel style, in 
by far the most agreeable residence upon the island, and was a gentleman of 
polished manners and of intellectual tastes. His amiable wife and lovely 
daughter contributed much to the attractions of his hospitable mansion. Las 
Casas rode to the governor's, over a rocky and precipitous road, in a carriage 
drawn by six oxen. In consequence of this engagement, Las Casas did not 
see the Emperor during the day. 

January 4. It was a brilliant day, serene and clear. Though the heat 
was intense, ocean, rock, and sky seemed to rejoice in the beams of the cloud- 
less sun. As Las Casas, in the morning, entered the apartment of the Emper- 
or, Napoleon playfiilly pinched his ear, saying, in touching tones of affection, 

" Well ! you deserted me yesterday. I got through the evening very well, 
notwithstanding. Do not suppose that I could pot do without you." 



tJ;j; ISAR)LIX)N Al Sl\ HKl.K.NA [CllAr. IV. 

The lMujK»\>r, s^nw lut* arrvvtU at ljv>npViHHl» htul omitted his usual dicta- 
ti*,>us. He uow ivad evorv dav, in his calnuot* uutil K^twoou thiw and tour 
in tlio artoruv.HMi. lie thou dix^ssod aud i\hIo out on hoi-jioKnok, acooui^viuioil 
bv two vu' thiw v.xl' his tVieads. His vidos weiv usually lUnvtod towanl a ta- 
vv^xnte vallov, which >vaj> solitary tuul sondicre iu tho extiviuo. Tho iwuls 
\wxi> so K^d that it was tixHjueutlv uoooss;»rv to dismount and oUuuIhm' over 
jules of stones. The Kmjvivr named this wild mviue the Wi/Zet/ oj 'Siftrmr. 
He tKH|uently invited ci>injvuiy to dine witli hiuu \Yhoiu he usuallv found a;?- 
seiuUhHl uivu his ivturn t\\nu his ride. Tliese guests, thus honoivd, ivusist- 
evl of tlie ovdvniel ot' the o»hI rt^ginuMtt, severtil KngUsli otlict^rs and their kdies, 
Adnnnd Cvvklnirn, aud s'trjuigx^rs uf distinction who visitevl the island. 

iJimtHtrp o, S>ir (nvrgx" C<.H'klnu"n dined at LotJgwood with the Kni^vrv^r. 
Puriuii' tlie evniversation, the admiral nMuarked that the (iOth ivixinient was 
cxnuing to n?-ewi\xrw the 5iM. The Km^x^ror siuiloil at .this, aud said, 

** IV YOU not consider yourself stivug- enough altwuly ? ^Vn additional sev- 
euty-four wo\dd, however, W of n\oiv use than a ivgiineut. Shi^v* of war aiv 
tlie security txf au islaud. Fortiticatious jmxluee but delay. The lauding 
ot* a sujvrior torvv is a comjulete s^uowas, if the distauce d«.x^s not admit tlu> 
arrival ot'su«.\\n-s," 

The admiral inquired wluch, iu the Kmjx^ror's opiiiiou, Avas the strongest 
j>lact» iu the world. 

"It is imjxv*sible to point it out," the Kmjx^rvvr rt>plieil, " Ixx'aust^ the 
stwngth of a jJace arises jxartly 6\mu its own uieans ot' delvuse, aud jvurtly 
fivui extr;\utvus aud indeterminate cirvnnustau».vs, AVe may xuentivni among 
the Nvrv strvnig fortrt^sscs, Straslmrg. IJUe, Met.';, Ali^ilmu Antwer|v, Malta, 
aud lUbraltjur." 

^''Yoxi were sus}xx'ie\l iu Knglaud for sonic time." said the admiral, "oi 
entertaining a de^-ugn to attack Ciilmdtjvr." 

'* \\'e knew Ix^tter than that," the llmjx^rv>r replieil. '*€t was tor our in- 
terest to leave iiibrjiltar iu your jx\>$essiv>n. It is of no advantagt^ to you. 
It neither jxivttvts ivor iutervx^pts any thing. It is oidy au objei.'t of national 
^yride, which ev^ts Kngland very dear, and ^ves great uml>r;»ge to Sjxain. 
It wovdd haAX" been very injudicious iu us to destrvn- such arrjuigements." 

•Ar/tMif/y 7. '* I was walking vnie aiYeruoou in the garvlen," .l-.c\s Oa^siis rw 
corvls, " when a sailor, aWut twenty-t^\\» or twvnty-three years of ag^ with 
a frank and ojx^u eouutenamx\ apprvviched us with gestur^^s expr^^s;5i>-e of 
e«igemess aiul joy, mingUxl with apprehension of Ixnng jx^rveiNxxl frvnu with- 
out, lie sjx^ke nothing but Kuglish, aud told me, iu a hurrievl manner, that 
he had twiw Ixntved the obstacle of sentinels aud all the dan^^rs ixf se^•e^e 
j>rothibition to get a close view of the Kmjx^ror. lie had obtaineil this goo^l 
loctune, he s,iid, kx^kiug steadtastly at the Kinjxrvi'r, and should die content ; 
that he otleawl up his jyrayers to Heaven that ^saixdtxui might enjoy gvxxl 
health aud be one day more happy. I ilismissed him, and, on quitting us, 
he hid himself once more behind the trees and hedges, in orvler to ha>-e a lon- 
ger view of us. 

•• ^^'c trequently met with such uuetpiivocal pnx»£s of the goovl-will of the 



1810, January.] KLSIDENGE AT LONGWOOD. fj9 

HailorH. 'i'lioHC of the Northuraheriand, above alJ, considered themselves as 
fiavirig formed a conrj(;ction witJi the J^^mperor. While we were residing at 
the Briers, where our seclusion was not so close, they often hovered, on a 
Sunday, around us, saying that they came to take another look at their ship- 
mate, ^i'he day on wljieli we quitted the Jiriers I was with the Emperor in 
the garden, wJieri one of tlie sailors presented himself at the gate, asking if 
lie miglit step in witiiont giving offense. I asked him of what country he 
was, and wliat religion he professcfL Ho answered Ly making various signs 
of the cross, in token of his liaving understood me, and of fraternity. Then, 
looking steadfastly upon the lOmperor, hefore whom he stood, and raising his 
(;yes to heaven, lie hfigan to liold a conversation with himself by gestures, 
which his stout, jovial frame rendered partly grotesque and partly sentiment- 
al. Nevertheless, it would have heen difficult to express more naturally 
admiration, nispect, kind wishes, and sympathy, while hig tears started in 
his eyes. ' Tell tliat dear man,' said he to me, 'that I wish him no harm, 
hut aU possible happiness. So do most of us. Long life and health to him I' 
He had a nosegay of wild flowers in his hand, which he seemed to wish to 
offer us, but either his attention was taken up, or he felt restrained by the 
Emperor's presence or his own feelings, and he stood wavering, as if con- 










THE SAILOns OK THE NORTHUMBERLAND VISITING THEIK SHIPMATE. 



70 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. f ChAP. IV. 

tending with himself for some time, then suddenly he made us a Ibow and 
disappeared. The Emperor could not refrain from evincing emotion at these 
two circumstances, so strongly did the countenances, accents, and gestures 
of these two men hear the stamp of tnith. He then said, 

" ' See the eifect of imagination. How powerful is its influence I These 
are people who do not know me, who have never seen me ; they have only 
heard me spoken of ; and what do they not feel ! What would they not do 
to serte me ! And the same caprice is to be found in all countries, in all 
ages, and in Loth sexes. This is fanaticism. Yes, imagination rules the 
world !'^' 

Jcmuary 9. The limits around Longwood allotted to the Emperor admit- 
ted of but half an hour's ride. He was, however, informed that he might ex- 
tend his ride over a great part of the island, if he would submit to the escort 
of an English officer. The Emperor promptly decided that he could derive 
no pleasure and no benefit from a ride in which he was accompanied by his 
jailer. Admiral Cockburn, respecting these feelings, had consented, in com- 
munication with the friends of the Emperor, that the English officer should 
folloAv at such a distance as to occasion no embarrassment or annoyance to 
the Emperor in his conversation with his friends. 

Napoleon was much gi-atified by this arrangement. He accordingly pro- 
posed to mount his horse at seven o'clock, to ride to the northern part of the 
island, to visit a spring, which in that vicinity gushed from beneath a beau- 
tiful grove in the midst of the rocks. From the bleak, barren, and verdure- 
less exposure of Longwood, a ride to the cool fountain, the green grass, and 
the rich foliage presented gi-eat attractions. The sun rose brilliantly. The 
Emperor and his friends had partaken of their slight breakfast. The horses 
were at the door. All were in cheerful spirits, and were at the moment of 
mounting, when they were informed that the admiral had reconsidered his de- 
cision, and that the English officer on guard was ordered not to allow " Gen- 
eral Bonaparte" to ride beyond his limits without keeping closely by his side. 

The Emperor immediately relinquished his intended jaunt, and returned, 
deeply wounded and profoundly saddened, to his room. He threw ofi" his 
riding-dress, put on his morning-gown, and, lying down itpon the sofa, dis- 
missed his attendants, and surrendered himself to silence, and solitude, and 
melancholy. His own spirit was, however, under perfect control, and he ut- 
tered not a word of anger or of reproach. His deep dejection, however, show- 
ed the anguish with which he yielded to wrongs so disgraceful to his op- 
pressors, and, on his part, so utterly without remedy. 

January 10. The Emperor passed the day, until four o'clock in the after- 
noon, reading alone in his room. He then dressed, and sent for Las Casas 
to accompany him in a walk in the garden. A sudden shower falling, he 
walked for some time up and down the rooms. He entered the drawing- 
room. Count Montholon and General Gourgaud were there, suspending a 
small mirror over the mantle-piece. The Emperor assisted them, and seem- 
ed much pleased at this improvement in his drawing-room furniture. He 
liad but just left those palaces of France, which were embellished with all 



1816, January.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 7I 

the luxuries Europe could afford, at a cost of more than eight millions of 
dollars. 

The rain continuing, he relinquished his intended walk, and said, "Let uy 
go and call upon Madam Montholon." Las Casas announced him. He en- 
tered her humble apartment and sat down, and requested Las Casas to do 
the same. The conversation turned upon furniture and housekeeping. He 
Legan to form an inventory of the articles, piece by piece, in Madam Montho- 
lon's room, and it was agreed that the whole was not worth more than one 
hundred and thirty dollars. 

Leaving Madam Montholon's apartment, he continued his tour of observa- 
tion from room to room till he came to the steep, almost pei-pendicular, and 
narrow stairs which, led to the chambers of the servants. 

"Let us look at Marchand's apartment," said the Emperor; "they say 
he keeps it like that of an elegant lady." 

They climbed the stairs. Marchand, the Emperor's valet, was in his little 
room, and it was in a state of perfect neatness. He had pasted paper upon 
the walls, and painted the paper with his own hands. The drawers were 
opened which contained the Emperor's linen and other articles of clothing. 
The Emperor, taking up a pair of spurs, said, 

" How many pairs of spurs have I, Marchand ?" 

"Four pair, sire," the valet replied. 

" Are any of them more remarkable than the rest?" the Emperor inquired. 

"No, sire." 

" Well, then, I will give a pair of them to Las Casas. Are these old ?" 

" Yes, sire, they are almost w^orn out. Your majesty wore them in the 
campaign of Dresden, and in that of Paris. " 

" Here," said he to Las Casas, "these are for you." 

" I could have wished," says Las Casas, "that he would have permitted 
me to receive them on my knees. I felt that I was really receiving some- 
thing connected with the glorious days of Champaubert, Montmirail, ISTangis, 
Montereau." 

Jammry 12. The Emperor took a short ride on horseback to-day within 
the limits allotted him. A drunken sentinel on one of the heights, mistak- 
ing his orders, shouted out and came running toward them, aiming his mus- 
ket at the Emperor. General Gourgaud collared the wretch and secured him. 
This event caused the companions of the Emperor to tremble for his life, 
while Napoleon regarded it as an additional affront, and a fresh obstacle to 
the continuance of his exercise on horseback. 

The Emperor now ceased giving further invitations to dinner, and, to be- 
guile the melancholy hours, resumed his daily dictations. He thus worked 
diligently until dmner-time. The time after dinner was devoted to reading. 
The Emperor himself usually read aloud, accompanying his reading with 
profound criticism. Whenever the Emperor could protract this exercise till 
eleven or twelve o'clock at night, h.e seemed truly rejoiced. He called this 
making conquests over time. 

Every three or four weeks a ship arrived fi'om England with the European 



NAPOLEON AT ST, HELENA. 



[CHAr. [\\ 




THE DRUNKEN SENTINEL. 



journals. These Avere devoured by the exiles with the most intense avidity. 
Some journals had recently been received. It Avas stated in them that En- 
gland had desired the dismemberment of France, but that Russia had op- 
posed it. 

" I expected this," said the Emperor. "■ It is the natural system. Russia 
must be dissatisfied at seeing France divided. On the (ither hand, the En- 
glish aristocracy must be desirous of rediicing France to the extreme of AA'eak- 
ness, and of establishing despotism upon her ruins. I can foresee nothing 
but catastrophes, massacres, and bloodshed." 

January 15. Las Casas, having been sent for by the Emperor, entered 
his room innnediately after breakfast, and found hhn reclining upon the sofa 
in his morning-gown. The conversation led him to inqiiire Avhat Las Casas 
was reading. Las Casas replied that he Avas reading " The Secret History 
of the Cabinet of Bonaparte, by Gohlsniith."* This Avas one of the most 

* The following is the title-page of a royal octavo volume of over six hiiiidred pages, published 
in London in the year 1810 : 

" The Secret History of the Cabinet of Bonaparte, including his Private Life, Character, Domestic 
Administration, together with the Secret Anecdotes of the different Courts of Europe, and of the 
French Revolution. With two Appendices, consisting of the State Papers and of Biographical 
Sketches of the Persons comprising the Court of St. Cloud. By Lewis Goldsmith, Notary Pub- 
lic, Author of the ' Crimes of Cabinets,' ' An Exposition of the Conduct of France toward America.' 
• The truth, and nothing but the truth.' London, ISIO." 

The following are extracts from this work. We must implore pardon of our readers for thus 
sullying this page : 

" Napoleon Bonaparte is the reputed son of the town clerk of Ajaccio. in Corsica. General Mar- 
boeuf was the avowed protector of the family. The meaning of this will be easily understood." 



1816, January.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 73 

notorious and scurrilous libels published against the Emperor. Las Casas 
had, with much difficulty, borrowed it of Doctor O'Meara. He quoted to tiie 
Emperor some of its ridiculous and abominable stories. 

The Emperor smiled at calumnies so incredible, and desired to see the 
work. Las Casas sent for it, and thej glanced over its pages together. As 
they passed from one horrid calumny to another, the Emperor sometimes 
shrugged his shoulders in amazement, again he laughed heartily, but he nev- 



" Our hero was placed at the military school at Brienne. He had an amour with a young girl 
of that place. Her disgrace was anticipated, and the disgrace of her paramour. The latter began 
his career of poisoning and murder by administering a dose to this unfortunate young woman. No 
positive proof being adduced, he was allowed to remain at school." 

" In the year 1786, General MarbcEuf died, and Napoleon was obliged to return to Corsica. From 
that period till he was sent ofl'the island in 1793 by General Paoli, he was guilty of crimes of ev- 
ery description." 

" In the year 1793 he arrived at Marseilles, with his mother and sisters, who were sent off the 
island on account of these women having kept a house of accommodation, in which every species 
of vice was encouraged." 

" One day he went to church, and having laid his hands on the hostie, emptied it of the conse- 
crated wafers, and supplied the place with the refuse of his own body." 

" It is the general opinion that both Kleber and Desaix were assassinated by the order of Na- 
poleon." 

" In his fits of passion he kicks those about him. He runs about the room foaming, raging, and 
swearing like a mad boy." 

" Merely for amusement, he used to pinch his Josephine to that degree that the impression of his 
fingers on her body has been visible for days." 

" He lived in a state of undisguised concubinage with his two sisters, Mesdames Murat (Caroline) 
and Borghese (Pauline). The former made a public boast of it. This voluptuous murderer has 
also established a seminary for young persons, daughters and orphans of the Legion of Honor. But 
it is nothing more than a nursery for his intended victims whom he wishes to debauch." 

" Never was there, in one human being, such a combination of cruelty, tyranny, petulance, lewd- 
ness, luxury, and avarice as there is in Napoleon Bonaparte. Human nature had not before pro- 
duced such a frightful being." 

" At the execution of the Duke d'Enghien, Bonaparte and his brother Louis were present. Louis 
fainted. This so enraged Napoleon that he kicked him as he would a dog." 

" The new-made Emperor fell upon the grand judge, and beat him in the face in the most un- 
merciful manner. He was taken out of the tyrant's presence, or he would have killed him. An 
eye-witness told me that it was truly laughable to see a grand judge, lying quietly on the sofa, suf- 
fering himself to be beaten like a slave without making the least resistance. And when he was 
taken into the antechamber, he was weltering in his blood, his robe torn, and his wig pulled off, 
while he was crying like a school-boy." 

" The poison which Bonaparte administered to his victims is, I am very credibly informed, pre- 
pared in the following manner : Arsenic is given to a pig, which they hang by its legs, and the sub- 
stance which drops out of the mouth and nostrils is collected, and goes through a chemical process. 
When he means to have any one poisoned, he sends for the cook or valet-de-chambre of the intend 
ed victim, and, what with bribes and threats, they unfortunately never fail of attaining their bloody 
ends." 

, Such were the histories of Napoleon, which, during this conflict, were circulated through the aris- 
tocratic circles of England. They were eagerly read and thankfully believed. For the masses of 
the people, sixpenny pamphlets of a similar character were issued. The following is the title of 
one of them : "T/je Atrocities of the Cor sican Demon ; or, A Glance at Bonaparte Do but observr 
the face of villainy.^' 

These histories may be found in the Boston Atheneum, and probably in most other of the large 
libraries of our country. Being a little too strong for modern palates, they have been slightly di- 
luted by Sir Walter Scott, his son-in-law Lockhart, and by Sir Archibald Alison. It is not strange 
that so many have risen from the reading of such volumes with the conviction that Napoleon was 
a "monster." 



74 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. IV. 

er betrayed the least sign of anger. When he read the recital of his reck- 
less licentiousness and his enormous debaucheries, he said, 
/ " The author doubtless wished to make me a hero in every respect ; but I 
,''must leave him to settle this charge with those who, on tlie other hand, have 
\ accused me of impotency. They are, however, in the wrong to attack me on 
the score of morals, since all the world knows that I have so singularly im- 
proved them. They can not but be ignorant that I was not at all inclined 
by nature to debauchery. Moreover, the multiplicity of my affairs would 
never have alloAved me time to indulge in it." 

When he came to the pages which heaped obscene and monstrous abuse 
upon his venerated mother, he exclaimed, in accents of blended grief and in- 
dignation, 

"Ah, madam! poor madam! with her lofty character! If she were to 
read this ! Great God ! " 

Doctor O'Meara was soon introduced. The Emperor, who Avas then shav- 
ing himself, turned to his physician and said, 

" Doctor, I have just read one of your fine London productions against 
me. It is a very just remark that it is the truth only which gives offense. 
I have not been angry for a moment, but I have frequently laughed at it." 

"It is an infamous and disgiisting libel," the doctor replied, with embar- 
rassment. " Nevertheless, persons may be found who will believe it from 
its not having been replied to." 

" But how can that be helped ?" said the Emj^eror. " If it should enter 
any one's head to put in print that I had grown hairy and walked on four 
paws, there are people who would believe it, and would say that God had 
punished me as he did Nebuchadnezzar. And what could I do ? There is 
no remedy in such cases." 

January 16. "The conversation," says Las Casas, "led me to observe 
that I had just given my son his first lesson in mathematics. It is a branch 
of knowledge wliich the Emperor is very fond of, and in Avhich he is partic- 
ularly skilled. He was astonished that I could teach my son so much with- 
out the help of any text-book. He said he did not know I was so learned 
in this way, and threatened me with examining, Avhen I did not expect it, 
both master and scholar. At dinner he undertook what he called the Pro- 
fessor of Mathematics, who was very near being posed by him. One ques- 
tion did not wait for another, and they were frequently very keen. Pie nev- 
(a- ceased to regret that the mathematics were not taught at a very early age 
in the Lyceums. He said that all the intentions he had formed respecting 
the universities had been frustrated, and that while lie was obliged to be at 
a distance canying on war, they spoiled all he had done at home." 

January 20. The Emperor received Governor Wilks. The governor was 
a man of much intelligence, and the conversation was ver.y animated upon 
the army, the sciences, government, . and the Indies. Speaking of the or- 
ganization of the English army, he expressed his surprise at the principles 
of promotion adopted therein, and that, in a country in Avhich the equality of 
rights is maintained, the soldiers so seldom become officers. 



1816, January.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 75 

" The English soldiers," said Governor Wilks, "are not capable of becom- 
ing officers. The English were astonished, in their turn, at the great differ- 
ence in that respect which they had remarked in the French army, where al- 
most every soldier showed the nascent talents of an officer." 

"That," said the Emperor, "is one of the great results of the conscrip- 
tion. It has rendered the French army the best constituted that ever exist- 
ed. It was an institution eminently national, and already strongly inter- 
woven with our habits. It had ceased to be a cause of grief except to moth- 
ers. The time was at hand when a girl would not have listened to a young 
*man who had not acquitted himself of this debt to his country, and it 
would have been only when arrived at this point that the conscription would 
have manifested the full extent of its advantages. When the service no lon- 
ger bears the appearance of punishment or compulsory duty, but is become 
a point of honor, on which all are jealous, then only is the nation great, glo- 
rious, and powerful. It is then that its existence is proof against reverses, 
invasions, even the hand of time. 

"Besides, it may be truly said that there is nothing that may not be ob- 
tained from Frenchmen by the excitement of danger. It seems to animate 
them. It is an inheritance they derive from their Gallic predecessors. Cour- 
ap-e, the love of glory, are, with the French, an instinct, a kind of sixth sense. 
How often, in the heat of battle, has my attention been fixed on my young 
conscripts, rushing, for the first time, into the thickest of the fight, honor 
and valor bursting forth at every pore !" 

The subject of chemistry was introduced, upon which Governor Wilks 
was peculiarly well informed. 

"All our manufactures," said the Emperor, "have made immense prog- 
ress by the aid of this science. Both England and France undoubtedly pos- 
sess great chemists. But chemistry is more generally diffused in France, 
and more particularly directed to useful results. In England it has remain- 
ed a science, while in France it has become thoroughly practical." 

The governor admitted that these observations were correct, and also add- 
ed that it was to the Emperor that all these advantages were due. " When 
science," he continued, "is led by the hand of power, it will produce great 
and happy effiscts upon the well-being of society." 

"Of late," said the Emperor, "France has obtained sugar from the beet- 
root ■ as good and cheap as that extracted from the sugar-cane. It is the 
same with woad, the substitute for indigo, and with almost all the colonial 
produce except the dyewoods. If the invention of the compass has produced 
a revolution in commerce, the progress of chemistry bids fair to produce a 
counter revolution." 

The conversation then turned to the numerous emigration of artisans from 
France and England to America. 

" That favored country," said the Emperor, "grows rich by our follies." 

" Those of England," the governor replied, smiling, "will occupy the first 
place in the list, from the numerous errors of administration which led to the 
revolt and subsequent emancipation of the colonies. " 



76 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [CHAr. lY. 

"Their emancipation," tlie Emperor continued, "was inevitable. When 
children come to the size of their fathers, it is difficult to retain them long in 
a state of obedience." 

Conversation now turned upon Madam de Stael's Delphhie. The Em- 
peror analyzed it with great critical acumen. The irregularity of mind and 
imagination which pervades it excited his censure. " There are throughout," 
said he, " the same faults which had formerly made me keep the author at 
a distance, notwithstanding the most pointed advance>s and the most unre- 
mitting flattery on her part. No sooner had victory immortalized the young 
general of the army of Italy, than Madam de Stael, from the mere sympa-# 
thy of glory, instantly professed for him sentiments of enthusiasm worthy of 
her own CoriniiG. She wrote him long and numerous epistles, full of wit, 
imagination, and metaphysical eiiidition. It was an error, she observed, 
arising only from human institutions, that could have united. him with the 
meek, the tranquil ]\Iadam Bonaparte. It was a soul of fire like hers (Mad- 
am de Stael) that nature had undoubtedly destined to be the companion of 
a hero like him. 

"While at Geneva," continued the Emperor, " on my way to Marengo, 
I received a visit from Madam de Stael's father, M. Neckar. He made 
known, in an awkward manner enough, his desire to be admitted again to 
the administration. J\L Neckar afterward wrote a dangerous work upon the 
policy of France, which he attempted to prove could no longer exist as a 
monarchy or a republic, and in which he called the First Consul the neces- 
sary man — Vhomme necessaire. 

"The First Consul," continued the Emperor, "proscribed the work, whicli 
at that time might have been highly prejudicial to him, and committed the 
task of its refutation to the Consul Lebrun, who, in his excellent prose, ex- 
ecuted prompt and ample justice upon it. The Neckar coterie Avas irritated, 
and Madam de Stael, engaging in some intrigues, received an order to quit 
France. Thenceforth she became an ardent and strenuous enemy. Never- 
theless, on the retui'n from Elba, she wrote, or sent to the Emperor, to ex- 
press, in her peculiar way, the enthusiasm which this wonderful event had 
excited in her ; that she Avas OA'crcome ; that this last act was not that of a 
mortal ; that it had at once raised its author to the skies. Then, returning 
to herself, she concluded by hhiting, that if the Emperor would condescend 
to allow the payment of the two millions, for which an order in her favor had 
already been signed by the king, her pen and her principles should be de- 
voted forever after to his interest. The Emperor desired she might be in- 
formed that nothing could flatter him more highly than her approbation, be- 
cause he fully appreciated her talents, but he really was not rich enough to 
purchase it at that price." 

The room which Count Las Casas temporarily occupied had been intend- 
ed as a topographical cabinet for the Emperor. New lodgings were now 
constructed for liim. He thus describes them : " Upon a soil constantly 
damp had been placed a floor eighteen feet long by eleven wide. This was 
sun-ounded by a wall a foot and a half in thickness, composed of a sort of 



1816, January.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 77 

loam, and which might have "been destroyed by a kick of the foot. At the 
height of seven feet it was covered with a roof of boards, defended by a coat- 
ing of paper and tar. Such were the construction and outHne of my new 
palace, divided into two apartments, one of which contained two beds sepa- 
rated by a chest of drawers, and would only afford room for a single chair. 
The other, at once my saloon and my library, had a single window, strongly 
fastened on account of the violence of the winds and rain. On the right and 
left of it were two writing-tables, for me and mj son; on the opposite side, 
a couch and two chairs. This was the whole of the furniture and the ac- 
commodations. Add to this that the aspect of the two windows is toward 
a wind constantly blowing from the sam^ quarter, and generally accompanied 
with rain, often very heavy, and which, previous to our taking possession, 
had already forced its way through the cracks, or soaked through the walls 
and the roof." 

Las Casas, with a heavy heart, entered this cheerless room. Weary and 
sick, he passed a sleepless night. To his amazement, early in the morning, 
before he had risen, the Emperor, in a playful mood, came bustling into his 
chamber, threw open the curtains, and, with an assumed air of authority, said 
that it was time to shake off sloth, and to be up and out. Then, struck with 
the extreme srnallness and closeness of the apartment, he said, 

"You must not be suifered to sleep huddled together in this Avay. It is 
far too unwholesome. You must return to the bed in the topographical cab- 
inet. If you occasion any inconvenience there, you shall be told of it." 

The Emperor then went out and mounted his horse for a ride. Las Casas 
soon dressed and overtook him. The conversation turned on the long audi- 
ence the Emperor had given Governor Wilks the day before. Las Casas 
was an author of much celebrity, and was treated with great deference by the 
governor; Napoleon alluded to this in a vein of pleasantry, and said, 

" Of course it is understood that these sentiments are to be mutual; the 
usual regard and fraternity of authors, as long as they do not criticise each 
other. And is he aware of your relationship to the venerable Las Casas ?" 

General Gourgaud replied that he was. - 

"And how do you know it yourself?" said the Emperor, turning to Las 
Casas. " Are you not romancing with us ? Let us hear all about it. Come, 
Sir Castellan, Sir Knight Errant, Sir Paladin, let us see you in your glory ; 
unroll your old parchments ; come enjoy yourself." 

Las Casas then gave the evidence that he was a descendant of the illustri- 
ous Spaniard, Barthelemi de Las Casas. 

January 26. Several days of incessant rain had confined the captive and 
his friends to their rooms. The Emperor read and wrote with great diligence, 
apparently never experiencing any fatigue from intellectual exertion. He 
often read aloud to his companions. He also engaged earnestly in the study 
of the English language. He read, with many comments, the letters of 
Madam de Sevigne, and the Hist'-^^-'-v of Charles XII. ; and also, with great 
rhetorical effect, the pathetic story o/Paul and Virginia. 

" The most touching passages," said the Emperor, " are always the most 



78 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChaP. lA'. 

simple and natural. Those Avhicli abound with abstract and false ideas, so 
much in fashion when the work was published, are all cold, bad, spoiled. I 
was infatuated with this book in my youth, but I have little personal regard 
for its author. I can never forgive him for having imposed on my generosity 
on my return from the army of Italy. The sensibility and delicacy of Ber- 
nardin Saint Pierre were little in harmony with his charming picture of Paul 
and Virginia. He was a bad man. He used his Avife, the daughter of Didot, 
the printer, very ill. He was always ready to ask charity without the least 
shame. On my return from the army of Italy, Bernardin came to see me, 
and almost immediately began to tell me of his wants. I, who in my early 
youth had dreamed of nothing but .Paul and Virginia, and felt flattered by a 
confidence which I imagined was reposed in me alone, and which I attributed 
to my great celebrity, hastened to return his visit, and, unperceived by any 
one, left on the corner of his chimney-piece a little rouleau of five-and-twenty 
Louis ($112). But lio'W was I mortified in seeing every one laugh at the 
delicacy of my proceeding, and on learning that such ceremony was entirely 
supeiiluous with M. Bernardin, who made it his trade to beg of all comers, 
and to receive from every body. I always retained some little resentment 
toward him for having thus imposed upon me. It was otherwise with my 
family. Josejih allowed him a large pension, and Louis was constantly mak- 
ing him presents." 

The Studies of JVature, by the same author, the Emperor considered con- 
temptible. "Bernardin," said he, "though versed in Belles Lettres, was 
very little of a geometrician. This last work was so bad that scientific men 
disdained to answer it. Bernardin complained loudly of their not answering 
him. The celebrated mathematician, Lagrange, when speaking on this sub- 
ject, always said, alluding to the Institute, 

" 'If Bernardin were one of- our class, if he spoke oiir language, we would 
call him to order. But he belongs to the Academy, and his style is out of 
our line.' 

" Bernardin was complaining, as usual, one day, to the First Consul, of 
.the silence of the learned with respect to his work. 'Do you understand 
the differential method, M. Bernardin?' Napoleon asked. 'No,' was the re- 
ply. ' Well,' added Napoleon, 'go and learn it, and then you will be able 
to answer it yourself.' " 

In reading Vertot's Poman Pevolutions, the Emperor highly commended 
the work, on the whole, though he thought the declamations much too dif- 
fuse. He amused himself in striking out the superfluous phrases, thus giv- 
ing the work nnich more energy and animation. 

"It would certainly be," said he, " a most valuable and successful labor, 
if any man of taste and discernment would devote his time to reducing the 
principal works in our language in this manner. I know of no one but JMon- 
tesquieu Avho would escape these curtailments." He thought Pollin diffuse 
and too credulous. Crevier, his contin^ ^or, he pronounced detestable. He 
condemned the French historians generally. 

" I can not bear," said he, " to read any of them. Velly is rich in words 



1816, January.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 79 

and poor in meaning. His continuators are still worse. Our liistorj should 
be either in four or five volumes, or in a hundred. I was acquainted with 
Garnier, who continued Velly and ViUaret. He lived in the basement of 
Mahuaison. He was an old man of eighty, and lodged in a small set of apart- 
ments on the ground floor, with a little gallery. Struck with the officious 
attention which this good old man always evinced whenever I was passing, 
I inquired who he was. On learning it was Garnier, t comprehended his 
motives. He no doubt imagined that a First Consul was his property as his- 
torian. I dare say, however, he was- astonished to find consuls where he had 
been accustomed to see kings. I laughingly told him so one day, and set- 
tled a good pension upon him. From that time the good man, in the warmth 
of his gratitude, would gladly have written any thing I pleased with aU his 
heart." 

January 27. The conversation at dinner and afterward turned on various 
deeds of arms. "One of the finest maneuvers," said the Emperor, "which 
I remember, I executed at Eckmiihh Success in war depends so much on 
quick-sightedness, and on seizing the right moment, that the battle of Auster- 
litz, which was so completely won, would have been lost if I had attacked 
six hours sooner. The Russians showed themselves on that occasion such 
excellent troops as they have never appeared since. The Russian army of 
Austerlitz would never have lost the battle of Moscow. 

" Marengo was the battle in which the Austrians fought best. Their 
troops behaved admirably there. But that was the grave of their valor. It 
has never since been seen. 

"The Prussians at Jena did not make such a resistance as was expected 
from their reputation. As to the multitudes of 1814 and 1815, they were a 
mere rabble compared to the real soldiers of Marengo, Austerlitz, and Jena. 

" The night before the battle of Jena I ran the greatest risk. I might 
then have disappeared without my fate being clearly known. I had approach- 
ed the bivouacs of the enemy in the dark to reconnoitre them. I had only 
a few officers with me. The opinion which was then entertained of the 
Prussian army kept every one on the alert. It was thought that the Prus- 
sians were particularly given to nocturnal attacks. As I returned, I was 
fired at by the first sentinel of my camp. This was a signal for the whole 
line. I had no resource but to throw myself flat on my face until the mis- 
take was discovered. My principal apprehension was that the Prussian line, 
which was very near me, would act in the same manner. 

"At Marengo, the Austrian soldiers had not forgotten the conqueror of 
Castiglione, Areola, and Rivoli. His name had much influence over them, 
but they were far fi'om thinking that he was present. They believed he was 
dead. Care had been taken to persuade them that he had perished in Egypt. 
This report had gained so much credit every where, that I was under the ne- 
cessity of ajDpearing in public at Milan in order to refute it. 

" Two of the circumstances," continued the Emperor, " which most aflect- 
ed me on the field of battle, were the deaths of young Guibert and General 
Corbineau. At Aboukir a bullet went quite through the heart of the former, 



■t% 



80 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. IT. 




BATTLE OF AUSTERLITZ. 



■without killing liim instantly. After saying a few words to him, I was 
obliged by the violence of my feelings to leave him. General Corbinean 
was can-ied away, crushed, annihilated by a cannon ball at Eylau, before 
my face, while I was giving him some orders." 

The Emperor spoke of the last moments of his devoted friend Lannes, the 
Duke of Montebello. 

"I had the highest esteem for him," said the Emperor. "He was for a 
long time a mere fighting man, but he afterward became an officer of the first 
talents." 

Some one remarked that he should like to know what line of conduct Lan- 
nes would have pursued in these latter times if he had lived. 

"We have learned," the Emperor replied, "not to take our oath to any 



RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



81 



1816, .'anuaiy.] 

tiling. Yet I can not conceive that it would have been possible for him to 
devia'e from the path of duty and of honor. Besides, it is hard to imagine 
that he could have existed. With all his bravery, he would unquestionably 
have got killed in some of the last affairs, or, at least, sufficiently wounded 
to be laid up out of the centre and influence of events. And if he had re- 
mained disposable, he was a man capable of changing the whole face of af- 
fairs by his own weight and influence." 






-I-, 




A' 









DEATH OF LANNES. 



The Emperor then entered upon a glowing eulogy of the private life and 
character of Duroc. " He had," said the Emperor, " lively, tender, and con- 
cealed passions, little corresponding with the coldness of his manner. It was 
long before I knew this, so exact and regular was his service. It was not 
until my day was entirely closed and finished that Duroc's work began. 

F 



S2 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Ch.' P. IV. 



Chance, or some accident, could alone have made me acquainted with his 
cliaracter. He was a pure and virtuous man, entirely disinterested ai d ex- 
tremely generous. 

" On the opening of the campaign at Dresden I lost two men who were 
extremely valuable to me, Bessieres and Duroc. When I went to see Du- 
roc after he had received his mortal wound, I attempted to hold out some 
hopes to him. But Duroc was not deceived, and only replied by begging 
them to give him opium. I could not endure the distressing spectacle, and 
tore myself away." 

One of the company then reminded the Emperor that, upon leaving Duroc, 
lie went alone to his tent, and that no one ventured to accost him. But at 
last some one, impelled by the urgency of the case, went to him and inquired 
where the battery of the guard was to be placed. " Ask me nothing till to- 
moiTow," was the reply. 

The Emperor struggled against the grief which these mournful recollections 
introduced, and, with much apparent etfort, abraptly changed the conversation. 




DEAiH OF DUI 



January 31. " Our days passed," says Las Casas, " as may be supposed, 



1816, January.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 83 

in an excessive stupid monotony. Ennui, reflection, and melancholy were 
our formidable enemies ; occupation, our great and only refuge. The Em- 
peror followed his pursuits with great regularity. English was become an 
affair of importance to him. It was now near a fortnight since he took his 
first lesson, and from that moment he had devoted some hours every day, 
beginning at noon, to that study. 

" Let any one form the idea of what the scholastic study of conjugations, 
declensions, and articles must have been to him. He often asked me wheth- 
er he did not deserve the ferula, of which he now comprehended the vast 
utility in schools. He declared, jestingly, that he should have made much 
greater progress himself had he stood in fear of correction. He complained 
of not having improved, but, in reality, the progress he had made would have 
been extraordinary in any one. The Emperor thus procured the pleasure 
of reading English, and he could make himself understood by writing in that 
language." 

Every day the Emperor passed some hours dictating the campaigns of 
Egypt to General Bertrand, and revising, with Las Casas, the campaigns of 
Italy. He also occasionally dictated to Messrs. Gourgaud and Montholon. 
On the 30th, after several days of rain, he went on horseback to the se- 
cluded vale which he had named the Valley of Silence. An apparently tri- 
fling event took place, which pleasantly illustrates the domestic character of 
the Emperor. Las Casas thus records it : 

" We were near the middle of the vale. The passage was stopped up with 
dead bushes, and a kind of bar to restrain cattle. The servant dismounted 
to clear the way for us. We passed on, but while the servant was engaged 
in assisting us, his horse had strayed from him, and when he attempted to 
catch him, ran away. A great quantity of rain had fallen, and the horse 
sank into a quagmire. The servant ran after us to say that he must remain 
for the purpose of disengagiilg his horse. We were in a very difiicult and 
narrow road, riding one by one. It was not until some time after that the 
Emperor heard us mention to one another the accident of the servant. He 
found much fault because we had not waited for him, and desired the grand 
marshal and General Gourgaud to return to his aid. 

" The Emperor dismounted to wait for them, and ascended a little eleva- 
tion, on which he looked like a figure on a pedestal in the midst of i-uins. 
He had the bridle of his horse passed around his arm, and began to whistle 
an air. Mute nature echoed the strains, but only to a barren desert. ' Yet,' 
thought I, 'a short time ago, how many sceptres he wielded! how many 
crowns belonged to him ! how many kings were at his feet ! It is true,' said 
I, ' that in the eyes of those who approach him, who daily see and hear him, 
he is still greater than ever. This is the sentiment, the opinion of all about 
him. We serve him with no less ardor, we love him with greater affection 
than ever.' 

" Soon the grand marshal and Gourgaud arrived. They assisted the Em- 
peror to mount again, and we went on. They acknowledged that without 
their assistance the horse could not have been saved. The united efforts of 



84 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELF.XA. 



[CiiAP. n' 







^. 






-^^--^^Wk-'.-.- 



THE EMPEUOR ON TlIK iLlrt. 



all throe hail linvolv Ihhm\ ^^nthoiout to disengage him. A short time aftcr- 
wnnl, in tinning an elbow of tlie roail, theKniporor observed that the servant 
had not tbllowed, and said that thev onglit to have renn^ined till he "was in. 
a condition to oonie on. They thonght he had staid behind to clean his 
horse a little. In the eo\irse of onr ride, at several other turnings the Em- 
peror repeated the same observation. AA'e arrived at the grand marshalV 
at Hut's Gate, went in, and rested there a few minutes. . As we came out, 
the Emperor asked if the servant had passed on. No one had seen him. 
When we arrived at I.ongwood, his tirst question was whether the man had 
returneil. 1 le had been at home some time, having taken a ditferent road. 

" T mav jierhaps have dwelt," says Las Casas, " somewhat too much upon 
this tritliiig eireumstanoe, but I did so because it appeared to me perfeetlv 
characteristic. In this domestic solicitude the reader will tind it dithcnlt to 
recognize the insensible, obdurate, Avicked, cruel monster, the tyrant ot' whom 
he has so often and so Ions; been told." 



1816, February.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 85 



CHAPTER V. 

1816, February. 

Scanty Resources of the Island — The Emperor's Progress in English — Learns the Death of Murat 
— Eloquent Parallel — Affairs of Spain — Dismal Days — Caricatures — French Politics — Picture of 
Domestic Happiness — The Emperor's Opinion of the French Poets — Public Contractors — Vigi- 
lance of the Emperor. 

February 1. A pleasant morning dawned upon the inmates of Longwood. 
The Emperor, cheered by the invigorating air, appeared tranquil and con- 
tented* As he walked with Las Casas in the garden, he surrendered himself 
to that wise philosophy which looks upon the "brightest side," and pleas- 
antly remarked, 

"After all, as a place of exile, St. Helena is perhaps the best that could 
be selected. In high latitudes we should have suffered greatly from cold. 
In any other island of the tropic we should have dragged out a miserable ex- 
istence under the scorching rays of the sun. This rock is wild and barren, 
no doubt. The climate is monotonous and unwiiolesome, but the temper- 
ature, it must be confessed, is mild and agreeable." 

"Meanwhile," says Las Casas, "in order to afford a coiTect idea of our 
place of exile and the scantiness of its resources, it is only necessary to ob- 
serve that we were this day informed it would be necessary to economize 
various articles of our daily consumption, and, perhaps, even to make a tem- 
porary sacrifice of some. We were told that the store of coffee was rajjidly 
diminishing, and that it would soon be entirely exhausted. For a consider- 
able time we have denied ourselves the use of w^hite sugar. There was but 
very little, and that very bad, Avhich was reserved exclusively for the Em- 
peror's use ; and there is now every prospect of this little supply being ex- 
hausted before more can be obtained. It is the same with various other nec- 
essaries. Our island is like a ship at sea ; our stores are speedily exhausted. 
But of all the privations with which we are threatened, that which surprises 
us, and which is' most of all vexatious, is the want of writing-paper. We 
are informed that, daring our three months' residence here, Ave have consumed 
all the paper in the island. In addition to this, our physical and moral pri- 
vations must be taken into account. It must be recollected that Ave were 
not in the full enjoyment of even the few resources Avhich the island affords, 
and of Avhich arbitrary feeling and caprice in part deprive us, for Ave are not 
permitted to regale our eyes Avith the sight of the grass and foliage in places 
at a certain distance from LongAvood. The admiral had promised that the 
J^]mperor should be free to ride over the whole island, and that he would make 
arrangements Avith respect to his guard, so as to free him from all annoyance. 
The admiral, hoAvever, broke his engagement ; and by his order, an officer in- 
sisted on accompanying the Emperor in his rides. The Emperor consequent- 



g(3 NAPOLEOX AT ST. HELENA. [ClLVr. Y. 

[y roiiouiK'od the idea of taking any oxcurt^iou whatever, aiul we now remain- 
ed cut otr tVoni any comnmnieation with the inhabitants. 

" ^^'ith respect to physical eoiutbrts, our situation was most miserable, 
either through vu\avoidable eireumstances or mismanagement. Scarcely any 
of the provisions were eatable. The wine was execrable. The oil was im- 
fit for use. The eotVee and sugar Avere almost at an end : and, as T Iuiao al- 
ready obser\eil, Ave had almost bred a famine in the island. Of course, aa'c 
could endure all these privations, and might have contrived to exist under 
many more. Hnt Avheu it is asserted that Ave AA'ere treated in a style of 

mairuilieenee, Ave are induced to unfold our real sitimtion, and to shoAV that 
o 

we AA'ere destitute of every comfort." 

J\f>nt(in/ 8. For several days the Aveather had been most dismal. The 
rain fell in torrents, and the hoAvliug gale swept fiercely over the bleak and 
craggy rock. The Avater soaked through the roof and the ceilings of tarred 
paper, and a chill dampness perxaded all the apartments. Irresistible gloom 
oppressed the spirits of all the inmates of this dreary prison. In the driving- 
storm, no one could leave the house. The I'hnperor, hoAVCA-er, iar surpassed 
any oi' his com])anions in patience and fortitude, rerceiving the dejection 
which Las Casas in vain cndeaAored to conceal, he said to him, playfulh', 
one morning. 

"What is the niatter Avith you? You seem quite altered for these fcAV 
(lays past. Is your mind ailing? Are you conjuring up dnujoni^, like Mad- 
am dc Sevigne ?" 

The iMuperor resolutely dcAoted four and live hours a day to the studA' of 
Knglish. lie prized very highly the knowledge he Avas thus acquiruig, as it 
enabled him to read tluently the Knglish papers, lie Avas Acry methodical 
in the employment of his time, and toilcil Avith most exemplary patience 
throuirh the drudirerA" of actiuiriuix the rudiments of a ncAV touirue. He sivid 
to Las Casas, 

"I stand in need of excitement, ^iothing but the pleasure of adA'ancc- 
luent can bear me through ; for, betAveen you and me, it must needs be con- 
fessed that there is nothino" verA' anuisins; in jvll this. Lideed, there is but 
very little of diversion in the Avhole routine of our present existence.'' 

To-day a frigate arrived bringing ncAvspapers from Europe. One of these 
journals contained the intelligvnce that Murat had hmded in Calabria with 
a fcAV troops, and had Wen seized and shot. As this unexpected intelligence 
"was read to tlie Kmperor, he exclaimed, " The Calabrians Avere moiv humane 
and generous than those aaIio sent me here." The Emperor Avas then silent, 
lost in painful musing, and for some time there Avas a pause, during Avhich 
uothino- Avas said. Afterward he remarked, 

" ^lurat Avas doomed to be our bane. He ruined us by forsaking us, 
and he ruined ns by too Avai-ndy espousing our cause. He obsers-ed no sort 
of discretion. He himself attacked the Austrians Avithout any reasonable 
plan and Avithout adequate forces, and he Avas subdued Avitho\it striking a 

blOAV." 

"Endeavors have been made," says Las Cas;is, "to represent NajK>leon 



1816, February.] 



RESIDENCE AT LONCWOOD. 




DEAni 01 MURi.1 



as a man of furious and implacable temper ; but the truth is that he was a 
stranger to revenge, and he never cherished any vindictive feelings whatever 
wrong he might have suffered. His anger was usually vented in violent trans- 
])orts, and Avas soon at an end. Murat had scandalously betrayed him, had 
twice ruined his prospects, and yet he came to seek an asylum at Toulon." 

"I should have taken Murat with me to Waterloo," said the Emperor, 
''but such Avas the patriotic and moral feeling of the French army, that it 
was doubtful whether the troops could surmount the horror and disgust which 
they felt for the man who had betrayed and lost France. I did not consider 
myself sufficiently powerful to protect him. Yet he might have enabled us 
to gain the victory. How useful would he have been at certain periods of 
the battle ! He would have broken three or four English squares. Murat 
was admirable in such a service as this. He was precisely the man for it. 
At the head of a body of cavalry, no man was ever more resolute, more cour- 
ageous, more brilliant. 

"As to drawing a parallel," continued the Emperor, "between the cir- 
cumstances of Napoleon and Murat, between the landing of the former in 
France and the entrance of the latter into the JSTeapolitan territory, no such 
parallel exists. Murat had no good argument to support his cause except 
success. His enterprise was purely chimerical, both as to the time and man- 
ner of its commencement. Napoleon was the chosen ruler of a people ; he 
was their legitimate sovereign, according to modern doctrines ; but Murat 
was not a Neapolitan ; the Neapolitans had not chosen Murat. How, there- 



88 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ClIAP. V. 

tore, could it Le expected that he would excite any lively interest in his fji- 
vor? Thus liis proclanuition was totally false and void ot" tacts. Ferdinand 
of Naples could view him in no other liglit than as a supporter of insurrec- 
tion, lie did so, and treated him accordingly. 

" How ditl'crent was it with me ! Before my arrival, one universal senti- 
ment pervaded France, and my proclamation was imbued with that senti- 
ment. Every one found that it echoed the feelings of his own heart. France 
was discontented : I was her resource. The evil and the remedy were imme- 
diately in unison. This is the whole history of that electric movement which 
is unexampled in history. It had its source solely in the nature of things. 
There was no consj)iracy, and the impulse was general. Not a word Avas 
spoken, and a general understanding prevailed throughout the country. 
Wliole towns threw themselves at the feet of their deliverer. The first bat- 
talion whicli I gained over to me innncdiatcly jdaced the whole army in my 
power. I found myself borne on to Paris. The existing government and 
its agency disappeared, without et^orts, like clouds before the sim. And yet, 
liad I been subthied, had I fallen into the hands of my enemies, I was not a 
mere insurrectionary chief ; I was a sovereign, acknowledged by all l^urope. 
[ had my title, my standards, my troops, and I was advancing to wage war 
on my enemy."' 

JFcbruanj 9. Las Casas read to the l^mperor, from an l]nglisli paper, an 
account of the Spanish o-oneral PorHer, who had endeavored to rouse his 
countrymen against the tyranny of Ferdinand. He failed, Avas arrest(>d, and 
hanged. 

" I am not in the least surprised," said the l^mperor, " tliat sucli an at- 
tempt shouhl have been made in Spain. Those very Spaniards, Avho jn-oved 
themselves my most iiiNcterate enemies Avheu 1 invaded their country, and 
who acquired the highest glory by the resistance they opjmsed to me, innne- 
diatelv aintealed to me on mv return from Elba. Thev had, thev said, fouirht 
against me as tlieir tyrant, but they now came to implore my aid as their de- 
liverer. They re(|uired only a small suni to emancipate themselves and to 
produce in the Peninsula a revolution similar to mine. Had I conquered at 
Waterloo, it was my intention inunediately \o have assisted the Spaniards. 
This circumstanee sutheiently exjilains to me the attenq)t that has lately 
been made. There is little doubt but that it will be renewed again. Vqi'- 
dinand, in his madness, may grasp his sceptre as firndy as he Avill, but one 
day or other it Avill slip through his fnigers like an eel." 

J^i.'hniary 11. It Avas a calm and beautiful Sabbath. The sun shone se- 
renely upon the solitude of St. Helena, In the afternoon the l^nipcror AA^alk- 
cd out Avith several of his companions, and remarked upon the pcacefulness 
and loneliness of the scene. " "We can not, at least," said he, " be accused 
of dissipation, or of the ardent pursuit of pleasure." 

"The Emperor," says Las Casas, "endures this mode of life admirably. 
He surpasses us all in equanimity and serenity of temper. He says himself 
that it Avould be diilieult to be more philosophic and tranquil than he is. 
lie retires to bed at ten o'clock, and does not r-o out before live or six in the 



1816, February.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 89 

afternoon, so that lie is never more than four hours out of door^, like a pris- 
oner who is led from his cell once a day to breathe the fresh air. But then 
liow intense is the occupation of each day I how various are the thoughts 
which occupy his mind!" 

" With regard to mental exertion," said the Emperor, " I feel as capable 
of bearing it as I have ever been. I never feel any exhaustion or weariness. 
I am astonished myself at the slight impression of all the great events of 
Avhich I have lately been the object. They are as lead which has glided over 
marble. Weight may compress a spring, but can not break it. It rises 
again with its own elasticity. I do not think that any one in the world 
knows better than myself how to yield to necessity. This is the true em- 
pire of reason, the true triumph of the soul." 

The hour for the calash had now arrived. In going to it the Emperor 
saw little Hortense, the daughter of Madam Bertrand. She was a lovely 
child, and quite a favorite of the Emperor. He called her to him, embraced 
her two or three times tenderly, and took her out in the carriage to ride along 
with little Tristan Montholon. During the ride. General Bertrand, who had 
been looking over the papers, gave an account of several witticisms and cari- 
catures which he had met with. 

One in the Emperor's favor represented him giving to the Princess of Hats- 



I I ililil 





'■^^C^^-^ 



"TYRANNICAL ACT OF A USURPER." 



90 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. Y. 

field, to commit to the flames, the letter whose disappearance would save the 
life of her husband by destroying the proof of his guilt. Underneath was 
written, ^^ Tyrannical Act of a Usurpe?'."' Connected with this was anoth- 
er caricature representing ]\Iadam Labcdoyere cind her son imploi-ing, at the 
feet of Louis XV III., the life of the husband and lather. Tlie king rudely 
repulses her. At a little distance some soldiers are di-awn up to shoot ]M. 
Labedoyere. Underneath were inscribed the Avords, '■'■ Paternal Act of a 
l^egithnate King.'''' 

This led to a general conversation upon the subject of caricatures. There 
were many mentioned which aftbrdcd the Emperor much anuisement. One 
of them caused him to laugh very heartily. There was a representation of 
the grand palace of the Tuileries. A herd of geese and unAA-ieldy swine 
were waddling and wallowing in by the great entrance gate of the palace, 
driven by a group of soldiers of all nations and of all arms. \X the same 
moment, an imperial eagle from one of the upper windows, with outspread 
wings, soared away in a bold and rapid fliglit. U})on the front of the palace 
there was inscribed these simple words, '■^ Change of Dynasty.''' . 

Another one the Emperor applauded very much as quite ludicrous and in 
very good taste. It represented George III. a corpulent old man standing 
upon the English coast, and in great rage hurling at the head of Napoleon, 
upon the opposite shores of France, an immense beet-root, saying, " Go and 
mak'e yourself some st/gar.^^ 

"If caricatures,'' said the Emperor, "sometimes avenge misfortune, they 
form a continual annoyance to power ; and how man}' Iuvac been made upon 
me! I think I have had my share of them."' • 

February 17. At six o'clock in the morning the Emperor mounted his 
horse and rode through the vallc}'. A party of about two hundred sailors 
and soldiers from the JSTorthu mherland were at work upon the road. - As 
soon as they saw the Emperor approaching, they innnediatcly formed into 
line to salute him. The Emperor spoke to the officers and smiled with pleas- 
ure upon the men. He appeared highly gratified in again seeing them. 

Continuing his ride, he remarked upon the intelligence which he had re- 
cently received from Europe. 

" The Bourbons," said he, " have now no other resource than severity. 
Four months have already elapsed, the allied forces are about to be with- 
draAvn, and none but half measures have been taken. The ailair has been 
badly managed. A government can exist only by its principle. The prin- 
ciple of the French government evidently is to retm-n to its old maxims. It 
should do this openly. In present circumstances, the chambers, above all, 
will be fatal. They will inspire the king with false confidence, and will have 
no weight with the nation. The king will soon be deprived of all means of 
communication with them. They Avill no longer follow tlie same religion 
nor speak the same language. No individual will henceforth have a right 
ro undeceive the people with regard to any absurdities which may be propa- 
gated, even if it sliould be Avished to make them believe that all the springs 
of Avater are poisoned, and that trains of gunpowder are laid under ground. 



1816, Februaiy.J 



RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



91 




THE ENGLISH SOLDIERS SALUTING THE EMPEROR. 



" There will be some juridical executions, and an extreme desire of reac- 
tion, which will he sufficiently strong to irritate but not to subdue. Sooner 
or later a volcanic eruption will ingulf the throne, its courtiers, and its par- 
tisans. If destiny has decreed that the Bourbons should reign, many ages 
must pass before they can be sure of that fact. At present they are un- 
doubtedly much worse situated than they were last year. Then one could, 
as a desperate resort, represent them as mediators between the coalesced 
powers and their country. They had not then directly contributed to the 
abasement of France, to the degradation of our national glory, but now they 
are the allies of our enemies. They have returned over the carnage and the 
conflagrations which they have provoked, and over which they exult. They 
have ruined the nation, its forces, its glory, its monuments, and have not 
hesitated to share its spoils with the enemy, and have thus reserved for 
themselves shame and contempt. In the eyes of all France they have ceased 
to be Frenchmen. They have proscribed themselves. 

"As to Europe, it appears to me as violently agitated as it has ever been. 
The Allies have destroyed France, but her resurrection may some day be 
caused by the uprising of the masses of the people in Europe whom the pol- 
icy of the sovereigns is calculated to alienate. France may also rise again 
in consequence of a quarrel among the Allies, which will probably take place. 

"As to our personal prospects here at St. Helena, they can only be im- 
proved through the medium of England, and she can only be induced to 
favor us by some political interest, some change of the ministry, the death 



92 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [Chap. V. 

of tlie sovereign, or still more probaLly by a sentiment of national glory ex- 
cited hy an outburst of popular opinion. As for political interests, circum- 
stances may bring them about. The change of individuals dejiends on acci- 
dents. As to the sentiment of national glory, so easily understood, the pres- 
ent ministry has disavowed it, but another may not be so insensible." 

Fehruary 18. The Kmperor, after studying English several hours, at five 
o'clock went into the garden, accompanied by mo.^t of his devoted compan- 
ions. He began to describe the happiness of a private individual, of irre- 
proachable character and easy circumstances, peacefully enjoying life in his 
native province, in the house and surrounded by the lands which he had in- 
herited from his ancestors. " Happiness of this kind," said he, " is now un- 
known in France except by tradition. The Revolution has destroyed it. 
The old families have been deprived of this enjoyment. Tlie new ones have 
not yet been long enough established to appreciate it. The picture which I 
have sketched lias now no real existence. 

" To be driven from one's natal chamber, from the garden where one has 
played in childhood, to have no paternal mansion, is, in reality, to be de- 
prived of one's country." 

Fehruary 23. Las Casas, in conversation, alluded to an atrocious act of 
cruelty perpetrated by Louis XVIII. , and quoted ironically a phrase which 
had become proverbial, '•'•The hereditary lind-heartedness of the J^ourhons."' 
The Emperor repeated the adage, and exclaimed, 

" Yes, how powerful is the empire of words when they have once been re- 
ceived. A historian will hazard a phrase which presents itself to him as fine. 
Others repeat it through adulation. The multitude seize upon words Avhich 
fill all mouths even in the midst of facts the most contrary. Behold the proof 
of the falsehood of this adage. It is to be found in Henry IV., undeniably 
the best of the Bourbons, oftering life to Marshal Byron, his companion in 
arms, his bosom friend, if he would confess his fault, and who yet left him 
heartlessly to his executioner because he remained firm. It is to be found 
in Louis XIIL, who, at the moment of the execution of his lavorite, immo- 
lated by an implacable minister, said, looking at his watch, '■Our good friend 
vmst he ^passm^ a very unconfortable quarter of an hour.'' It is to be 
found in the conduct of Louis XIV., who, upon being informed, while setting- 
out for the chase, of the inevitable and immediate dcatli of his mistress, but 
eighteen years of age, expressed no other regret tlian tlic cold remark, '-She 
dies very young.'' It is to be found in the character of the Regent, who, 
during the dying agonies of Cardinal Dubois, the companion of his debauch- 
eries, the confidant of his thoughts, and his prime minister, wrote to one of 
his boon companions, exiled by the dying cardinal, '■Hasten ; I e.rjyect you to 
supper to-night. Dead dogs do not Lite.'' It is to be found in Louis XV., 
who, losing his mistress, the friend, the confidante of twenty years, said to his 
companions, because it rained during the funeral, '•The marquise has a v^ry 
wijjleasant day for her Journey.'' In fine, a hundred other things, of the 
same sort, would not finish the catalogue. And, nevertheless, the adage con- 
tinues its career. Such is historv to the unreflecting;. " 



1816, February.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. ■ 93 

Fehruary 28. The Emperor, in twenty-five lessons, liad become so familiar 
with the English that he could read any book without difficulty. He was 
much interested in reading tragedies of a high character. 

"The Emperor," records Las Casas, "likes them particularly, and takes 
pleasure in analyzing them, which he does with singular logic and much taste. 
He remembers a great quantity of poetry which he learned in his childhood, 
at which time, he says, he knew much more than he does at present. The 
Emperor is delighted with Racine ; in him he finds true beauty. He great- 
ly admires Corneille, but thinks very little of Voltaire, who, he says, is full 
of bombast and trickery, always false, neither acquainted with men, or things, 
or truth, or the grandeur of the passions. 

"At one of the evening levees at St. Cloud, the Emperor analyzed a piece 
which had just been brought out. It was Hector^ by Luce de Lancival. 
This piece pleased him much. It had warmth, energy ; he called it a head- 
quarter piece, saying that one would meet the enemy more resolutely after 
hearing it, and that he wished more were written in that spirit. 

" Then adverting to the dramas which he called waiting-maidi tragedies., 
he said they could survive but one representation. A good tragedy, on the 
contrary, gains every day. ' High tragedy,' said he, 'is the school of great 
men. It is the duty of sovereigns to encourage and disseminate it. It is 
not necessary to be a poet to appreciate its merits. It is sufficient to know 
men and things, to have elevation of character, and to be a statesman. Trag- 
edy fires the soul, warms the heart, and creates heroes. In this view, per- 
haps, France owes to Corneille a part of her great actions. Gentlemen, had 
he lived in my time, I w^ould have made him a prince.' 

" On a similar occasion he analyzed and condemned the Etats de Itloisj 
which had just been presented, for the first time, at the Theatre of the Court. 
Perceiving among the company present the arch-treasurer Lebrun, who was 
distinguished for his literary acquirements, he asked his opinion of it. Le- 
brun, who was undoubtedly in the author's interest, contented himself with 
remarking that the subject was a bad one. 

" ' That,' replied the Emperor, ' was M. Eenouard's first fault. He chose 
it himself. It was not forced upon him. Besides, there is no subject, how- 
ever bad, which great talents can not turn to some account ; Corneille woiild 
still have been himself even in one like this. As for M. Eenouard, he has 
totally failed. He has shown i!o other talent but that of versification. Ev- 
ery thing else is bad — -very bad.. His conception, his details, his results, are 
altogether deficient. He violates the truth of history ; his characters are 
false, and their political tendency is dangerous, and, perhaps, prejudicial. 
This is an additional proof of what, how6ver, is very well known, that there 
is a wide difference between the reading and the representation of a play. I 
thought at first that this piece might have been allowed to pass. It was not 
until this evening that I perceived its improprieties. Of these, the praises 
lavished on the Bourbons are the least. The declamations ag-ainst the Rev- 
olutionists are much worse. M. Renouard has made the chief of these Six- 
teen the capuchin Chabot of the Convention. There is matter in this piece 



94 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. V. 

for all parties and all passions. Were I to allow it to he represented in Paris, 
I should probably be informed of half a hundred people nnirdering one an- 
other in the pit. Besides, the author has made Henrj lA^. a true Philinte, 
and the Duke of Guise a Figaro, which is nuich too great an outrage on his- 
tory. The Duke of Guise was one of the most distinguished men of his 
time ; and if he had but ventured, he might have eslablished the fourth dy- 
nasty. Besides, he was related to the Empress ; he was a prince of the 
house of Austria, with whom we are in friendship, and Avliose embassador 
was present this evening at the representation. The author has, in more than 
one instance, shown a strange disregard of propriety.' " 

"Talma," continues Las Casas, "the celebrated tragedian, had frequent 
interviews with the Emperor, who greatly admired his talent, and rewarded 
him magnificently. When the First Consul became Emperor, it was report- 
ed all over Paris that he had Talma to give him lessons in attitude and cos- 
tume. The Emperor, who always knew every thing that was said against 
him, rallied Talma one day upon the subject, and, finding him look quite 
disconcerted, said, 'You are wrong; I certainly could not have employed 
myself better if I had had leisure for it.' On the contrary, it was the Em- 
peror who gave Talma lessons in his art. 'Racine,' said he to Talma, 'has 
loaded his character of Orestes with imbecilities, and you only add to their 
extravagance. In the death of Pompey you do not play Ca?sar like a hero. 
In Britannicus you do not play Nero like a tyrant.' Every one knows the 
con-ections which Talma afterward made in his performances of these cele- 
brated characters.*' 

February 29. It was a dark and stormy night, and the exiles of Longwood 
remained at the table conversing for several hours after the cloth Avas re- 
Inoved. The conversation turned upon what were termed the agents during 
the Revolution, and the great fortunes which they acquired. 

"Scarcely had I become First Consul," said the Emperor, "ere I found 
myself at issue with jMadam Recamier. Her father had been placed in the 
Post-office Department. I had found it necessary to sign in confidence a 
great number of appointments, but I soon established a very rigid inspection 
in every department. A coiTCspondencc was discovered with the Chouans, 
going on under the connivance of M. Bernard, the father of Madam Reca- 
mier. He was immediately dismissed, and naiTOwly escaped trial and con- 
denniation to death. His daughter hastened to me, and upon her solicita- 
tions I exempted ]VI. Bernard from taking his trial, but was resolute respect- 
ing his dismissal. ]\Iadam Recamier, accustomed to obtain every thing, 
would be satisfied with nothino- less than the reinstatement of her father. 
Such were the morals of the times. j\Iy severity excited loud animadver- 
sions. It Avas a thing quite unusual. ]\Iadam Recamier and her party, 
which Avas Aery immerous, ncA'er forgaA'e me. 

" The contractors and the agents, above any other class, excited my un- 
easiness. They were the scourge and the plague of the nation. The Avhole 
of France Avould not haA^e satisfied the ambition of this class Avho Avere in 
Paris. When I came to the head of aflairs they constituted an absolute poAV- 



1816, Febniaiy.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 95 

er. Tliej were most dangerous to the state, whose resources they obstruct- 
ed and corrupted hj their intrigues, and by those of their agents and numer- 
ous dependents. In truth, they could never be regarded as any thing but 
sources of corruption and ruin, like Jews and usurers. They had discredit- 
ed the Directory, and they wished, in like manner, to control the Consulate. 
,\t that period they enjoyed the highest rank and influence in society. 

" One of the principal retrograde steps which I took, with the view of re- 
storing the past state and manners of society, was to throw all this false lus- 
tre back into the crowd. I never would raise any of this class to distinction. 
Of all aristocracies, this appeared to me the worst. The party always dis- 
liked me for tliis. But they were still less inclined to pardon the rigid in- 
quiry which I instituted into their accounts with the government. 

" In this business I turned the service of the Council of State to the best 
account. I used to appoint a committee of four or five members of the coun- 
cil, men of integrity and intelligence. They made their report to me, and if 
the case required farther investigation, I wrote at the bottom of the report, 
ItefetTed to the grand judge, to he submitted to his laws. The individuals 
implicated generally endeavored to compromise the affair when it arrived at 
this point. They would disgorge one, two, three, or four millions of francs 
i-ather than suffer the business to be legally investigated. I well knew that 
all these facts were misrepresented in the different circles of the capital ; that 
they created me many enemies, and drew down upon me the reproach of being 
arbitrary and tyrannical ; but I thus acquitted a great duty to the mass of 
society, who must have been grateful to me for the measures I adopted toward 
these bloodsuckers of the public. 

"Men are always the same. Since Pharamond, contractors have always 
acted thus ; and they have always occupied the same place in the opinions 
of the people. But at no period of the monarchy were they ever attacked in. 
so legal a fonu, or assailed so energetically and openly, as by me. Ever/ 
among the contractors themselves, the few individuals who possessed honesty 
and integrity found, in this extreme severity, a new guarantee for their own 
conduct. 

" I enjoyed singular reputation among the heads of offices and accountants. 
The examination of accounts I understood very well. The circumstance that 
first gained me reputation in this way was that, while balancing a yearly ac- 
count during the Consulate, I discovered an error of four hundred thousand 
dollars to the disadvantage of the Republic. M. Dufresne, who was then 
Secretary of the Treasury, and who was a perfectly honest man, at first would 
not believe that the error existed. However, it was an affair of figures. 
The fact could not be denied. At the Treasury several months were occu- 
pied in endeavoring to discover the error. It was at length found in an ac- 
count of the contractor Seguin, who immediately acknowledged it on being 
shown the accounts, and restored the money, saying that it was a mistake. 

" On another occasion, while examining the accounts of the pay of the 
garrison of Paris, I observed a charge of some twelve thousand dollars set 
down to a detachment which had never been in the capital. The minister 



96 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. V. 



made a note of the error merely from complaisance, but was convinced, in his 
own mind, that the Emperor was mistaken. I, however, proved to be right, 
and the sum Avas restored." 



yi\h H'll:' - 




NAPOLfcON EXAMINING THE ACCOUNTS. 



Speaking of the Cadastre, the Emperor said, "According to the plan 
which I had drawn up, it might he considered the real constitution of the 
Empire. It was the true guarantee of property, and the secm-ity for the in- 
dependence of each individual ; for the tax being once fixed and established 
by the Legislature, each individual might make his own arrangements, and 
had nothing to fear from the authority or arbitrary conduct of assessors, 
which is always the point most sensibly felt, and the surest to enforce sub- 
mission. 

" I had succeeded in creating a system of government doubtless the purest 
and most energetic in Europe. I had the details so much at my command, 
that I am sure I could now, merely with the help of the IMoniteurs, trace the 
complete history of the financial administration of the Empire during my 
reign." 



1816, March.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 97 



CHAPTEE VI. 

: . . 1816, March. 

Invasion of England — Etiquette of the Emperor's Court — The Emperor's Levees — The Court and 
the City — The Anonymous Letter — Remarks on Medicine — Corvisart — Medical Practice in Bab- 
ylon. 

March 3. The Emperor had passed a restless night, and was quite unwell 
and depressed in spirits. At two o'clock he sent for Las Casas, and beguiled 
the time for two hours in listening to his remarks upon London. 

"Were the English much afraid of my invasion?" inquired the Emperor. 
"What was the general opinion at the time?" 

"I can not inform you," Las Casas replied. "I had then returned to 
France. But in the saloons of Paris we laughed at the idea of the invasion 
of England, and the English who were in Paris at the time did so too." 

"Well," replied the Emperor, "you might laugh in Paris, but Pitt did 
not laugh in London. He soon calculated the extent of the danger, and, there- 
fore, threw a coalition upon my shoulders at the moment when I raised my 
arm to strike. Never was the EngHsh oligarchy exposed to greater danger. 

" I had taken measures to preclude the possibility of failure in my landing. 
I had the best army in the world. I need only say that it was the army of 
Austerlitz. In four days I should have been in London. I should have en- 
tered the British capital, not as a conqueror, but as a liberator. I should have 
been another William III., but I would have acted with greater generosity 
and disinterestedness. The discipline of my army was perfect. Sly troops 
would have behaved in London the same as they would in Paris. No sacri- 
fices, not even contributions, would have been exacted from the English. We 
should have presented ourselves to them, not as conquerors, but as brothers, 
who came to restore to them their rights and liberties. I would have assem- 
bled the citizens, and directed them to labor themselves in the task of their 
regeneration, because the English had afready preceded us in political legis- 
lation. I would have declared that our only wish was to be able to rejoice 
in the happiness and prosperity of the English people, and to these profes- 
sions I would have strictly adhered. 

" In the course of a few months, the two nations, which had been such de- 
termined enemies, would have henceforward composed only one people, iden- 
tified in principles, maxims, and interests. I should have departed from En- 
gland in order to effect from south to north, under republican colors (for I 
was then first consul), the regeneration of Europe, which at a later period 
I was on the point of effecting from north to south under monarchical forms. 
Both systems were equally good, since both would have been attended by 
the same results, and would have been carried into execution with firmness, 
moderation,- and good faith. How many ills that are now endured, and how 

G 



98 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. VI. 

many that are yet to be experienced, would not nnliappy Europe liave es- 
caped? Never was a project so favorable to the interests of civilization con- 
ceived with more disinterested intentions, or so near being carried into exe- 
cution. It is a remarkable fact, that the obstacles which occasioned my fail- 
are were not the work of men, but proceeded from the elements. In the 
south the sea frustrated my plans. The burning of Moscow, the snow and 
the Avinter, completed my ruin in the north. Thus water, air, and fire, aU 
nature, and nature alone, was hostile to the universal regeneration which 
nature herself called for. The problems of Providence are insoluble." 

The Emperor was for a few moments silent, absorbed in thought. He 
then added, 

" It was supposed that my scheme was merely a vain thought, because it 
did not appear that I possessed any reasonable means of attempting its exe- 
cution. But I had laid my plans deeply, and without being observed. I 
had dispersed all our French ships, and the English were sailing after them 
to different parts of the world. Our ships were to return suddenly and at 
the same time, and to assemble in a mass along the Frencli coasts. I would 
have had seventy or eighty French or Spanish vessels in the Channel.* I 
calculated that I should continue master of it for two months. Three or four 
thousand little boats were to be ready at a signal. A hundred thousand men 
were every day drilled in embarking and landing as a part of their exercise. 
They were full of ardor and eager for the enterprise, which was very popular 
with the Frencli, and was supported by the wishes of a great number of the 
English. After landing my troops, I could calculate upon only one pitched 
battle, the result of which could not be doubtful, and victory would have 
brought us to London. The nature of the country would not admit of a war 
of maneuvering. My conduct would have done the rest. 

" The people of England groaned under the yoke of an oligarchy. On feel- 
ing that their pride had not been humbled, they would have ranged them- 
selves on our side. We should have been considered only as allies come to 
effect their deliverance. We shoidd have presented ourselves with the mag- 
ical words of liberty and equality.''^ 

March 5. The Emperor, in his conversations, frequently spoke of himself 
in the third person, as of an historical personage who had passed from the 
stage of action. To-day, in this mood of mind, he spoke with great frank- 
ness about his court and the etiquette observed in it. 

"At the period of the Revolution," said he, "the courts of Spain and Na- 
ples still imitated the ceremony and grandeur of Louis XIV., mingled with 
the pomp and exaggeration of the CastiHans and Moors. The court of St. 
Petersburg had assumed the tone and forms of the draAving-room. That of 
Vienna had become quite citizen-like. There no longer remained any ves- 
tige of the wit, the grace, and the good taste of the court of Versailles. 

"When, therefore. Napoleon obtained the sovereign power, he formed a 
court according to his own taste. He was desirous of adopting a national 
medium by accommodating the dignity of the throne to modern customs, and 
* Spain was then in friendly alliance with France, and at war with England. 



I 



1816, March.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 99 

particularly Iby making the creation of a court contribute to improve the 
manners of the great, and promote the industry of the mass of the people. 
It certainly was no easy matter to reconstruct a throne on the very spot 
where a reigning monarch had been judicially executed, and where the people 
had constitutionally sworn their hatred of kings. It was not easy to restore 
dignities, titles, and decorations among a people who, for the space of fifteen 
years, had urged a war of proscription against them. 

" Napoleon, however, who seemed always to possess the power of effecting 
what he wished, perhaps because he had the art of wishing for what was just 
and proper, after a great struggle surmounted all these difficulties. When 
he became Emperor he created a class of nobility and founded a court. Vic- 
tory seemed, all on a, sudden, to do her utmost to consolidate and shed a lustre 
over this new order of things. All Europe acknowledged the Emperor. At 
one period it might have been said that all the courts of the Continent had 
flocked to Paris to add to the splendor of the Tuileries, which was the most 
brilliant and numerous court ever seen. There was a continued series of 
parties, balls, and entertainments, and the court was always distinguished 
for extraordinary magnificence and grandeur. The person of the sovereign 
was alone remarkable for extreme simplicity, which, indeed, was a character- 
istic that served to distinguish him amid the surrounding splendor. He 
encouraged all this magnificence from motives of policy, and not because 
it accorded with his own taste. It was calculated to encourage manufactures 
and national industry. The ceremonies and fetes which took place on the 
marriage of the Empress and the birth of the King of Rome far surpassed 
any which had preceded them, and probably will never again be equaled. 

" The Emperor endeavored to establish in his foreign relations every thing 
that was calculated to place him in harmony with the other courts of Europe, 
but at home he constantly tried to adapt old forms to new manners. He 
established the morning and evening levees of the old kings of France ; but 
with him these levees were merely nominal, and did not exist in reality 
as in former times. Instead of being occupied with the details of the toilet 
and the conversations which might naturally ensue, these levees under .the 
Emperor were, in fact, appropriated to receiving in the morning, and dismiss- 
ing in the evening, such persons of his household as had to obtain orders di- 
rectly from him, and who were privileged to pay their court to him at those 
hours. The Emperor also established special presentation to his person and 
admission to his court ; but instead of making noble birth the only means 
of securing these honors, the title for obtaining them was founded solely on 
the combined basis of fortune, influence, and public services. 

"Napoleon, moreover, created titles, the qualifications for which gave the 
last blow to the old feudal system. These titles, however, possessed no real 
value, and were established for an object purely national. Those which were 
unaccompanied by any prerogatives or privileges might be enjoyed by per- 
sons of any rank or profession, and were bestowed as rewards for all kinds 
of services. Abroad they had the useful effect of appearing an approxima- 
tion to the old manners of Europe, while, at the same time, they served as 



100 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. VI. 

a toy for amusing the vanities of many individuals at home ; for how many 
really clever men are children more than once in their lives 1 

" The Emperor revived decorations of honor, and distributed crosses and 
ribbons, but, instead of confining them to particular and exclusive classes, 
he extended them to society in general, as rewards for every description of 
talent and public service. The value of these privileges was enhanced in 
proportion to the number distributed. About 25,000 decorations of the Le- 
gion of Honor were conferred, and the desire to obtain this distinction in- 
creased until it became a kind of mania. After the battle of Wagram the 
Emperor sent the decoration of the Legion of Honor to the Archduke Charles, 
and, by a refinement of compliment, he sent him merely the silver cross which 
was worn by the private soldiers. 

" It Avas only by acting strictly and voluntarily in conformity with these 
maxims that the Emperor became the real national monarch. An adherence 
to the same course would have rendered t|ie fourth dynasty the truly consti- 
tutional one. Of these facts the people of the lowest ranks frequently evinced 
an instinctive knoAvledge. On returning from his coronation in Italy, as the 
Emperor approached the environs of Lyons he found all the population as- 
sembled on the roads to see him pass, and he took a fancy to ascend the 
mountain of Tarare alone. He gave orders that nobody should follow him. 
Mingling with the crowd, he accosted an old woman, and asked what all the 
bustle meant. She replied that the Emperor was expected. After some 
little conversation, the Emperor said to her, 

" 'My good woman, formerly you had Capet the tyrant, now you have Na- 
poleon the tyrant ; what have you gained by the cliange ?' 

" The force of the ariniment disconcerted the old woman for a moment, 
but, immediately recollecting herself, she replied, 

" ' Pardon me, sir, there is a great difference. We ourselves have chosen 
Napoleon, but we got Capet by chance.' 




THE EMPEROR AND THE PEASANT WOMAN. 



1816, March.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 101 

" The old woman was right," continued the Emperor. " She exhibitec? 
more instinctive good sense than many men who are possessed of great in 
formation and talents. 

"The Emperor surrounded himself with great crown officers. He estah- 
lished a numerous household of chamberlains and grooms. He selected per- 
sons to fill these offices indiscriminately from among those whom the Kevo- 
lution had elevated, and from the ancient families which it had ruined. The 
former considered themselves as standing on an estate which they had ac- 
quired, the latter on one which they thought they might recover. The Em- 
peror had in view, by this mixture of persons, the extinction of hatreds and 
the amalgamation of parties. He, however, was not displeased at seeing a 
variety of manners. The individuals belonging to the ancient families per- 
formed their duties with the greatest courtesy and assiduity. A Madam de 
Montmorency would have stooped down to tie the Empress's shoes ; a lady 
of the new school would have hesitated to do this, lest she should be taken 
for a real waiting-woman ; but the Madam de Montmorency had no such ap- 
prehension. 

" These posts of honor were, for the most part, without emolument ; they 
were even attended with expense ; but they brought the individuals who 
filled them daily under the eye of the sovereign, of a very powerful sovereign, 
the source of honor and favor, and who declared that he would not have the 
lowest officer in his household solicit benefits from any one but himself. 

"At the time of his marriage with the Empress Maria Louisa, the Em- 
peror made an extensive recruit of chamberlains from among the highest ranks 
of the old aristocracy. This he did with the view of proving to Europe that 
there existed but one party in France, and of rallying around the Empress 
those names which must have been familiar to her. The Emperor even hes- 
itated whether or not to select the lady of honor from that class ; but his fear 
lest the Empress, with whose character he was unacquainted, might be im- 
bued with prejudices respecting birth that might too much elate the old par- 
ty, led him to make another choice. 

"From this moment until the period of our disasters, the most ancient and 
illustrious families eagerly solicited places in the household of the Empress. 
And how could it be otherwise ? The Emperor had raised France and the 
French people above the level of other nations. Power, glory, constituted 
his retinue. Happy were they who inhaled the atmosphere of the imperial 
court. To be immediately connected with the Emperor's person furnished, 
both abroad and at home, a title to consideration, homage, and respect. 

"It is the custom to talk of the influence of the tone and manners of the 
court upon those of the nation. I was far fi-om having succeeded in bringing 
about any such result ; but it was the fault of circumstances and of several 
unperceived combinations. I had reflected much on the subject, and think 
that it would have been accomplished in time. 

" The court, taken collectively, does not exert this influence. It is only 
because its elements, those who compose it, go to communicate, each in his 
own sphere of action, that which they have collected from the common source. 



102 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ClIAr. VI. 

The tone of the court is thus infused into a whole nation only throuii;h inter- 
mediate societies. Now we had no such societies, nor could we yet have 
them. Those delightful assemblies, where one enjoys so fully the advantages 
of civilization, suddenly disappear at the ap])roach of revolutions, and are re- 
established but slowly when the tempests dissipate. The indispensable bases 
of society are leisure and opulence. ]iut avc were all still in a state of agita- 
tion, and iiTcat fortunes were not yet iinnly established. A s;reat number 
of theatres, a multitude of public cstablishincnts, moreover, presented jilcas- 
ures more ready, less constrained, and more exciting. The women of the 
day, taken collectively, were young. They liked better to be out, and to show 
themselves in pidtlic, than to remain at home and to com]iose a narroAver cir- 
cle. But they would have grown old, and, with a little time and tranquillity, 
every thing woidd have fallen into its natural course. 

" And then, again, it would perhaps be an error to judge of a modern court 
by the remembrance of the old ones. The pouier certainly resided in the old 
courts. They said the couri and the citij. At the present day, if Ave desire 
to speak correctly, Ave are obliged to say the city iiml the court. The feudal 
lords, since they haA-e lost their poAver, seek to make themselves amends in 
their enjoAnnents. BoAcreigns themselA'cs appear to be, for the future, sub- 
jected to this law. The throne, Avith our liberal ideas, has insensibly ceased 
to be a seigniory, and has become purely a magistracy. The prince, having 
only a simple practical character to maintain, always sufficiently dull and te- 
dious in the long run, nuist seek to AvithdraAV from it, to come, as a mere cit- 
izen, and take his share in the charms of society." 

In continuation of this long eouAcrsation, the Kmpcror rcnuirkcd u]ion a 
great number of ncAV measures Avhich he had projected for the tranquil future 
which he Avas cA'cr so earnestly desiring. 

"My faA'orite idea,*' said he, "had been, peace being obtained and repose 
secured, to dcA-ote my life to purifWug the administration, and to local amel- 
iorations ; to be occupied in perpetual tours in the departments. I Avould 
have Aisited, not hurried OA-cr : sojourned, not posted through. I Avould haA'c 
used my oaoi horses, and Avould have been surrounded by the Empress, the 
Kino- of Rome, niA' Avhole court. At the same time, it Avas my intention that 
this great equipage should not be burdensome to any, but rather a benctit to 
all. A suit of tapestiy hangings and all the other appendages, folloAA-ing in 
the train. Avould have furnished and decorated his places of rest. The other 
pM|cns of the court Avould liaA'c been extremely Avelcome to the citizens, aa'Iio 
AV^nd have looked upon their guests as a benetit rather than as a burden, 
because they Avould ahvays liaA-e been the sivre means of their acquiruig some 
adA'antage or some favors. It is thus that I should liaAT been ablAin Qx^rj 
place, to prevent frauds, jnmish misappropriations, direct editices, bridges, 
roads, drain marshes, and fertilize lands. If IleaAcn had tlicn granted me a 
few years, I Avould certainly have made Paris the capital of the Avorld, and 
all France a real fairy land." 

HCarch 6. Some East Tndiamen arriAcd at the island, returning to En- 
gland from China. Dr. O'^leara purchased for ^150 a very massiA'e set of 



1816, Marcll.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 103 

chessmen, elaborately carved in ivory. The Emperor considered them quite 
useless, saying pleasantly, "Every piece will require a crane to move it." 

The day was excessively hot, and the Emperor remained in his room. 
Many of the officers of the China fleet were sauntering around the house at 
Longwood, intensely desirous of getting a glimpse of the Emperor. When 
Napoleon was informed of the ardor of their curiosity, he with great kindness 
ordered them all to be admitted. For half an hour, with perfect affability, 
he conversed with them respecting China, its commerce, its revenue, its mis- 
sionaries. These English officers and seamen were delighted with the Em- 
peror, and gave enthusiastic utterance to their admiration. When Napoleon 
was informed of these friendly expressions, he said, 

*' I believe it. Do you not perceive that they are our Mends ? All that 
you have observed in them belongs to the commons of England, the natural 
enemies, perhaps without giving themselves credit for it, of their old and in- 
solent aristocracy." 

March 7. The Emperor, at an early hour, mounted his horse for a ride. 
He was accompanied by Las Casas and his son. The Emperor had partic- 
ularly requested that the young Las Casas should go with them. The even- 
ing before, seeing the lad on horseback, he had said to his father, 

"Do you have Immanuel taught to groom his own horse? Nothing is 
more useful. I gave particular orders that the students should do this in 
the military school of Saint Germain." 

Las Casas immediately adopted the plan, and his son appeared in the 
morning upon a horse which he himself had groomed. When the Emperor 
was informed of this, he was quite pleased, and made the lad pass through an 
examination of his knowledge and skill. 

After a ride of two hours, the Emperor dismounted at his door, and the 
whole party of -exiles breakfasted together under a gum-tree, upon the green 
turf. The Emperor then returned to his room and to his intellectual avoca- 
tions. He now understood English so well that he could read and write in 
that language with much facility. To test his skill, he playfuRy wrote an 
anonymous letter to Las Casas, who was an author of some celebrity, and 
who had the usual sensitiveness of authors respecting their works. Las Ca- 
sas thus records this incident : 

"A short time before dinner, I presented myself as usual in the drawing- 
room. The Emperor was playing at chess with the grand marshal. The 
valet de chambre in waiting at the door of the room brought me a letter, on 
which was written very xirgent. Out of respect to the Emperor, I went 
aside to read it. It was in English. It stated that I had written an ex- 
cellent work ; that, nevertheless, it was not without faults ; that if I would 
correct them in a new edition, no doubt the work Avould be more valuable for 
it ; and then went on to pray that God would keep me in his gracious and 
holy protection. 

" Such a letter excited my astonishment and made me rather angry. The 
color rushed to my face. I did not, at first, give myself time to consider the 
writing. In reading it over again, I recognized the hand, notwithstanding its 



104 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. VI. 

being much better "written than Tisual, and I coukl not help huighing a good 
deal to myselt". But tlie Emperor, who east a side glance at me, asked me 
from whom the letter came that was given to me. I replied that it was a 
paper that had caused a very different ieeling in me at tirst from that which 
it would leave pcnnanently. I said this with so nuich simplicity, the mys- 
tification had been so complete, that he laughed till tears came in his eyes. 
The letter was from him. The pupil had a mind to jest Avltli his master, and 
try his powers at his ex})ense. I carefully preserve this letter. TJie gayety, 
the style, and the Avhole circumstance render it more valuable to me than any 
diploma the Emperor could have put into my hands when he was in power." 




THE OAMK OK CllKS 



IFat'ch 8. The Emperor was quite unwell during the night, and not be- 
ing able to sleep, he rose and amused himself in writing another letter in 
English to Las Casas. General Gourgaud was also quite sick, and the ad- 
miral sent the surgeon of the ^^otikumherland. Dr. AVarden, to visit him. 
The Emperor detained the surgeon to dinner. The conversation turned upon 
medical practice, and the Emperor manifested so much accuracy of knowl- 
edge upon the subject as to surprise exceedingly his auditor. Napoleon had 
no faith in medicine, and could seldom be induced to take any. 

''Doctor," said he, "our body is a machine for the pur])ose of life. It is 
organized to that end ; that is its nature. Leave the life there at its ease ; 
let it take care of itself ; it Avill do better than if you paralyze it by loading 
it with medicines. It is like a well-made watch, destined to go for a certahi 
time. The watchmaker has not the power of opening it. He can not med- 



I 



1816, March.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 105 

die with it Ibut at random, with his eyes bandaged. For one who, by dint 
of racking it with his ill-formed instruments, succeeds in doing it any good, 
how many blockheads destroy it altogether ! " 

The celebrated Corvisart* was a great enemy to medicines, and employed 
them very sparingly. "Do you not believe," said the Emperor to him one 
day, "that, seeing the uncertainty of the art itself, and the ignorance of those 
who practice it, its effects, taken in the aggregate, are more fatal than usefal 
to the people? Have you never killed any body yourself? that is to say, have 
not some patients died evidently in consequence of your prescriptions ?" 

"Undoubtedly," Corvisart replied; "but I ought no more to let that 
weigh upon my conscience than would your majesty if you had caused the 
destruction of some troops, not from having made a bad movement, but be- 
cause their march was impeded by a ditch or a precipice which it was impos- 
sible for you to be aware of." 

" What is life ?" continued the Emperor ; " when and how do we receive 
it ? Is that still any thing but mystery ? Madness is a vacancy or inco- 
herence of judginent between just perceptions and the application of them. 
The dangerous madman is he in whom this vacancy or incoherence of judg- 
ment occurs between perceptions and actions. It was he who cut off the 
head of a sleeping man, and concealed himself behind a hedge to enjoy the 
perplexity of the dead body when he should awake. And what is the differ- 
ence between sleep and death ? Sleep is the momentary suspension of the 
faculties which are within the power of our volition. Death is the lasting 
suspension, not only of these faculties, but also of those over which our will 
has no control." 

The conversation then turned upon the plague. "It is communicated," 
said the Emperor, "by inspiration as well as by contact. It is rendered 
most dangerous, and is most extensively propagated, by fear. Its principal 
seat is in the imagination. In Egypt, all those in whom the imagination was 
affected perished. The most prudent remedy was moral courage. I touch- 
ed with impunity some infected persons at Jaffa, and saved many lives by 
deceiving the soldiers, during two months, as to the nature of the disease. It 
was not the plague, they were told, but a fever accompanied with ulcers. 
Moreover, the best means to preserve the army from it were to keep them on 
the march, and give them plenty of exercise. Fatigue, and the occupation 
of the mind upon other subjects, were found the surest protection. 

" If Hippocrates," continued the Emperor to the doctor, " were on a sud- 
den to enter your hospital, would he not be much astonished ? Would he 
adopt your maxims and your methods ? Would he not find fault with you ? 
On your part, would you understand his language ? Would you at all com- 
prehend each other ?" He concluded by pleasantly extolling the practice of 
medicine in Babylon, where the patients were exposed at the door, and the 
relations, sitting near them, stopped the passengers to inquire if they had 
ever been afflicted in a similar way. " One had at least the certainty," said 
he, "of escaping all those whose remedies had killed them." 

* The Emperor's family physician. 



106 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. VIT. 



CHAPTER VIL 
1816, March. Continued. 

Trial of Ney — National Character of the French — The Emperor's Carriage taken at Waterloo— 
The Emperor at Dresden — Maria Louisa and Josephine — Alexander, Francis, and the King of 
Prussia — Eloquent Effusion of the Emperor — Testimony of B. Constant. 

March 10—12. The weather was dismah High wmds and pelting rains 
confined the exiles within doors. Fortunately, some papers amved from En- 
gland, which enabled them to beguile the weary hours. These journals con- 
tained an account of the atrocious trial of Marshal Ney, which was then in 
progress, in defiance of the terms of the capitulation of Paris. As the Em- 
peror sadly perused the proceedings of the narrative, he said, 

" The horizon is indeed gloomy. The unfortunate marshal is certainly in 
gi-eat danger. We must not, however, despair. The king undoubtedly be- 
lieves himself quite sure of the Peers. These are, it is true, violent enough, 
firmly resolved, highly incensed ; but for all that, suppose the slightest ac- 
cident, some new rumor, or I know not what, then you would see, in spite 




PORTRAIT OF MARSHAL NEY 



1816, March.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 107 

of all the efforts of the king, and of Avhat they believe to be the interest of 
their cause, the Chamber of Peers would, all on a sudden, take it into their 
heads not to find him guilty, and thus Ney may be saved." 

Then, turning his thoughts to the volatile character of the French nation, 
the Emperor said, 

"All the French are turbulent and disposed to rail, but they are not ad- 
dicted to seditious combinations, still less to actual conspiracy. Their levity 
is so natural to them, their changes so sudden, that it may be said to be a 
national dishonor. They are mere weathercocks, the sport of the winds, it 
is true ; but this vice is with them free from the calculations of interest, and 
that is their best excuse. But we must only be understood here to speak 
of the mass — of that which constitutes public opinion ; for individual exam- 
ples to the contrary have swarmed in our latter times, that exliibit certain 
classes in the most disgusting state of meanness. 

"It was this knowledge of the national character which always prevented 
my having recourse to the High Court. This court was instituted by our 
Constitution. The Council of State had decreed its organization. But I felt 
all the danger and bustle that such spectacles always produce. Such a pro- 
ceeding was, in reality, an appeal to the public, and was always highly in- 
jurious to authority when the accused gained the cause. A ministry in 
England might sustain, without inconvenience, the effects of a decision against 
it under such circumstances, but a sovereign like me, and situated as I was, 
could not have suffered it without the utmost danger to public affairs. For 
this reason, I preferred to have recourse to ordinary tribunals. Malevolence 
often started objections to this; but, nevertheless, among all those whom it 
was pleased to call victims, which of them, I ask you, has retained his pop- 
ularity in our late struggles ? They have taken care to justify me. Ai of 
them are faded in the national estimation." 

The journals contamed an article relative to the carnage which the Em- 
peror lost at Waterloo. A very minute description was given of this vehi- 
cle, and an inventory of its contents. As the Emperor rode night and day, 
and ate, slept, read, and wrote in his carriage, the interior was arranged for 
such conveniences. The carriage itself was, however, perfectly plain and 
unostentatious, and without any of the appliances of luxury. The captious 
English editor, in alluding to a small liquor-case, observed that the Emperor 
never forgot himself. In describing the Emperor's compact dressing-case, 
he added, sneeringly, "It may be seen that he made his toilet comme it 
fauV Napoleon, as he heard this read, shrugged his shoulders, and ex- 
claimed, with a mingled expression of disgust and sadness, 

" How is this ? Do these people of England, then, take me to be some 
wild animal ? Have they really been led so far as this ? Or their Prince of 
Wales, who is a kind of ox Apis, as I am assured, does he not pay that at- 
tention to his toilet that is considered proper by every person of any educa- 
tion among us ?" 

In commenting upon this. Las Casas adds, " It is known that the Emper- 
or, of all people in the world, set the least value on his personal convenience, 



108 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. YII. 

and studied it the least ; but, on the other hand, and the Emperor ever ac- 
knowledged it with pleasure, there never was one for whom the devotion and 
attention of servants had been so diligent in that particular. As he ate at 
very irregular hours, they contrived, in the course of his journeys and cam- 
paigns, to have his dinner, similar to what he was accustomed to at the 
Tuileries, always ready within a few paces of him. He had but to speak 
and he was instantly served. He himself said it was magic." 

The conversation turned upon the celebrated interview at Dresden, when 
Napoleon, upon the eve of the Russian campaign, met the associated Euro- 
pean monarchs who were friendly to his cause. Las Casas informed him 
that at Dresden he had not a single French soldier near him, and that his 
court was sometimes not without apprehension for the safety of his person. 
The Saxon body-guard was his only protection. 

"It is all one," said the Emperor. "I was then in so good a family 
that I ran no risk. I was beloved by all. And at this very time I am 
sure that the good King of Saxony repeats every day a Pater and an Ave 
for me. 

" But I rained the fortunes of his daughter, the poor Princess Augusta, 
and I acted very wrong in so doing. Returning from Tilsit, I received at 
]\Iarienwerder a chamberlain of the King of Saxony, w^ho delivered me a let- 
ter from his master. He wrote, ' I have just received a letter from the Em- 
peror of Austria, who desires my daughter in marriage. I send this to you, 
that you may inform me what answer I ought to return.' I replied that I 
should be in Dresden in a fcAV days. On my arrival, I set my face against 
the match, and prevented it. I was very wrong. I was fearful that the Em- 
peror Francis would withdraw the King of Saxony from me. On the con- 
trary, the Princess Augusta woidd have brought over the Emperor Francis 
on my side, and I should not now have been here." 

Speaking of ]\Iaria Louisa, the Emperor said, " The reign of ]\Iaria Louisa 
was very short, but it must have been full of enjoyment for her. She had 
the world at her feet." 

The Empress of Austria was Maria Louisa's mother-in-law, and w^as sup- 
posed to regard with much jealousy the splendor of her step-daughter. Las 
Casas took the liberty to inquire, " Was not the Emjjress of Austria the 
sworn enemy of Maria Louisa ?" 

" Nothing more," replied the Emperor, " than a little regular court hatred, 
a thorough detestation in the heart, but glossed over by daily letters of four 
pages, full of coaxing and tenderness. The Empress of Austria has, how- 
ever, address and ability, and tliat sufficient to embarrass her husband, who 
had acquired the suspicion that she entertained a poor opinion of him. Her 
countenance was agreeable, engaging, and had something very peculiar in it. 
She was a pretty little nun. As to the Emperor Francis, his good nature is 
well known, and makes him constantly the dupe of the designing. His son 
will be like him. 

" The King of Prussia, as a private character, is an honorable, good, and 
worthy man, but in his political capacity he is naturally disposed to yield 



RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



109 



1816, March.] 

to necessity. He is always commanded by whoever has power on his side, 
and seems ahout to strike. 




"As to the Emperor of Russia, he is a man infinitely superior to these. 
He possesses wit, grace, information, and is fascinating, hut he is not to be 
trusted. He is devoid of candor, a true Greek of the Lower Empire. At 
the same time, he is not without ideology, real or assumed ; after all, it may 
be only a smattering derived from his education and his preceptor. Would 
you believe what I had to discuss with him ? He maintained that inherit- 
ance was an abuse in monarchy, and I had to spend more than an hour, and 



110 ' NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. VII. 

employ all my eloquence and logic, in proving to liim that this right consti- 
tuted the peace and happiness of the people. It may be, too, that he was 
mystifying, for he is cunning, false, adroit, and h}'pocritical. I repeat it, he 
is a Greek of the Lower Empire ; he can go a great length. If I die here, 
he will be tny real heir in Europe. I alone Avas able to stop him with his 
deluge of Tartars. The crisis is great, and wiU have lasting effects upon the 
Continent of Europe, especially upon Constantinople. He was solicitous with 
me for the possession of it. I have had much coaxing upon this subject, but 
I constantly turned a deaf ear to it. The Tiu'kish Empire, shattered as it 
appeared, Avould constantly have remained a point of separation between us. 
It was the marsh that prevented my right being turned. 

"As to Greece, it is another matter. Greece awaits a liberator. There 
will be a brilliant crown of glory. He will inscribe his name forever with 
those of Homer, Plato, and Epaminondas. I, perhaps, was not far from it. 
When, during my campaign in Italy, I arrived on the shores of the Adriatic, 
I wi'ote to the Directory that I had before my eyes the kingdom of Alexan- 
der. Still later, I entered into engagements with iUi Pacha ; and when Corfti, 
was taken, they must have found there ammunition and a complete equip- 
ment for an army of forty or fifty thousand men. I had caused maps to be 
made of ]\Iacedonia, Servia, Albania. Greece, the Peloponnesus at least, must 
be the lot of that European power which shall possess Egypt. It should be 
ours ; and then an independent kingdom in the north, Constantinople, with its 
provinces, to serve as a barrier to the power of Russia, as they have pretend- 
ed to do with respect to France by creating the kingdom of Belgium." 

One evening, during these dreary days of darkness aiul rain, the Emperor 
was endeavoring to begaiile the weariness of his companions, who were all as- 
sembled around him, by very frank and animated conversation on varied top- 
ics. Speaking of the caprice of women, he said, 

" Nothing more clearly indicates rank, education, and good breeding among 
them tlian evenness of temper, and the constant desire to please. They are 
bound always to show themselves mistresses of themselves, and to be always 
attending to their part on the stage. My two wives had always been so. 
They certainly differed greatly in their qualities and dispositions, but they 
always agreed in this point. Never have I witnessed ill humor in the one or 
the other. To please me was the constant object with both of them."' 

Las Casas ventured to remark that Maria Louisa had boasted that when- 
ever she desired any thing, no matter how difficult, she had only to Aveep. 

"This is new to me," said the Emperor, with a smile. "I might have 
suspected it with Josephine, but I had no idea of it in ]\Iaria Louisa." Then 
addi-essing himself to IMadam Bertrand and Madam Montholon, he said, play- 
fully, " Tlius it is with you all, ladies. In some points you all agree." 

Diu'ing this conversation the Emperor inquired the day of the month. " It 
is the lltli of March," some one replied. It Avas the anniA'crsary of the Em- 
peror's trinmphant entrance into Lyons on his return from Elba. 

"Well," added the Emperor, in earnest tones, "it is a year ago to-day; 
it Avas a brilliant day ; I Avas at Lyons. I rcAdewed some troops, and had 



1816, March.] 



RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



Ill 




PORTRAIT OF THE EMPRESS MARIA LOUISA. 



the mayor to dine with me, who, hy-tlie-way, has Iboasted since that it was 
the worst dinner he ever made in his life." 

The Emperor became animated, and, pacing the chamber rapidly, contin- 
ued: "I was again become a great power. I had founded the finest em- 
pire in the world, and I was so necessary to it, that, notwithstanding all the 
last reverses, here, upon my rock, I seem still to remain the master of France. 
Look at what is going on there ; read the papers ; you will find it so in every 
line. Let me once more set my foot there, and you will see what France is, 
and what I can do. What a fatality that my return from the island of Elba 
was not acquiesced in — that every one did not perceive that my reign was 
desirable and necessary for the balance and repose of Europe I But kings 
and people both feared me. They were wrong, and may pay dearly for it. 
I returned a new man ; they could not believe it. They could not imagine 
that a man could have sufficient strength of mind to alter his character, or to 
bend to the power of circumstances. I had, however, given proofs of this, 
and some pledges to the same effect. Who is ignorant that I am not a 
man for half measures ? I would have been as sincerely the monarch of the 
Constitution and of peace as I had been of absolute sway and great enter- 
prises. , 



112 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChaP. VII. 

" Let us reason a little upon the fears of kings and people on mj account. 
What could the kings apprehend? Did they still dread mj ambition, my 
conquests, my universal monarchy ? But my power and my resources were 
no longer the same ; and, besides, I had only defeated and conquered in my 
own defense. This is a truth which time wall more fully develop every day. 
Europe never ceased to make war upon France, her principles, and me, and 
we were compelled to destroy to save ourselves from destruction. The co- 
alition always existed, openly or secretly, avowed or denied. It was perma- 
nent. It only rested with the Allies to give us peace. For ourselves, we 
were worn out. The French dreaded making new conquests. As to myself, 
is it supposed that I am insensible to the charms of repose and security when 
glory and honor do not require it otherwise ? With our two Chambers, they 
might have forbidden me, in future, to pass the Rhine, and why should I 
have wished it ? For my universal monarchy ? But I never gave any con- 
vincing proof of Insanity. And what is its chief characteristic but a dispro- 
portion betAveen our object and the means of attaining it ? If I have been 
on the point of accomplishing this universal monarchy, it was without any 
original design, and because I was led to it step by step. The last efforts 
wanting to arrive at it seemed so trifling, was it very unreasonable to attempt 
them? But, on my return fi-om Elba, could a similar idea, a thought so 
mad, a purpose so unattainable, enter the head of the most rash man in the 
world ? The sovereigns then had nothing to fear from my arms. 

" Did they apprehend that I might overwhelm them with anarchical prin- 
ciples? But they knew by experience my opinion on that score. They 
have all seen me occupy their territories. How often have I been urged to 
revolutionize their states, give municipal ftmctions to their cities, and excite 
insurrection among their subjects ! However I may have been stigmatized 
in their name as the modern Attila, liohesjnerre on horseback, &c., they aU 
know better at the bottom of their hearts ; let them look there. Had I been 
so, I might, perhaps, still have reigned, but they most certainly would have 
long since ceased to reign. In the great cause of which I saw myself the 
chief and the arbitrator, one of two systems was to be followed — to make 
kings listen to reason from the people, or to conduct the people to happiness 
by means of their kings. But it is well known to be no easy matter to 
check the people when they are once set on. It was more rational to reckon 
a little upon the wisdom and intelligence of rulers. I had a right always 
to suppose them possessed of sufficient intellect to see such obvious interests. 
I w^as deceived. They never calculated at all, and in tlieir blind fury they 
let loose against me that which I withheld when opposed to them. They 
will see. 

" Lastly, did the sovereigns take umbrage at seeing a mere soldier attain 
a crown ? Did they fear the example ? The solemnities, the circumstances 
that accompanied my elevation, my eagerness to conform to their habits, to 
identify myself with their existence, to become allied to them bjji blood and 
by policy, closed the door sufficiently against new-comers. Besides, if there 
must needs have been the spectacle of an interrupted legitimacy, I maintain 



1816, March.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 113 

that it was much more for then- interest that it should take place in my per- 
son, one risen from the ranks, than in that of a prince, one of their own 
family ; for thousands of ages will elapse befote the circumstances accumu- 
lated in my case draw forth another from among the crowd to reproduce the 
same spectacle, while there is not a sovereign who has not, at a few paces 
distant, in his palace, cousins, nephews, brothers, and relations, to whom it 
would be easy to follow such an example, if once set. 

" On the other side, what was there to alarm the people. Did they fear 
that I should come to lay waste and to impose chains on them ? But I re- 
turned the messiah of peace and of their rights. This new maxim was my 
whole strength. To violate it would have been ruin. But even the French 
mistrusted me. They had the insanity to discuss when there was nothing 
to do but to fight ; to divide, when they should have been united on any 
terms. And was it not better to run the risk of having me again for master 
than to expose themselves to that of submitting to a foreign yoke ? Would 
it not have been easier to rid themselves of a single despot, of one tyrant, 
than to shake oif the chains of all the nations united ? And, moreover, 
whence did they derive this mistrust of me ? Because they had already seen 
me concentrate every effort in myself, and direct them with a vigorous hand ? 
But do they not learn at the present day, to their cost, how necessary that 
was ? Well, the danger was, in any case, the same ; the contest terrible, and 
the crisis imminent. 

" In this state of things, was not absolute power necessary, indispensable ? 
The welfare of the country obliged me even to declare it openly on my re- 
turn from Leipsic. I ought to have done so again on my return from Elba. 
I was wanting in consistency, or, rather, in confidence in the French, because 
many of them no longer placed any in me, and it was doing me great wrong. 
If narrow and vulgar minds only saw, in all my efforts, the care of my own 
power, ought not those of greater scope to have shown that, under the cir- 
cumstances in which we were placed, my power and the country were but 
one ? Did it require such great and incurable mischiefs to enable them to 
comprehend me ? History will do me justice. It will signaHze me as a 
man of self-denial and disinterestedness. To what temptations was I not 
exposed in the army of Italy ? England offered me the crown of France at 
the time of the treaty of Amiens. I refused peace at Chatillon. I disdained 
all personal stipulations at Waterloo. And why ? Because all this had no 
reference to my country, and I had no ambition distinct from hers— that of 
her glory, her ascendency, her majesty. And there is the reason that, in 
spite of so many calamities, I remain so popular among the French. It is 
a sort of instinct of after-justice on their part. 

"Who in the world ever had greater treasures at his disposal? I have 
had many hundred millions in my vaults ; many other hundreds composed 
my extraordinary domain. All these were my own. What is become of 
them ? They were poured out in the distresses of the country. Let them 
contemplate me here. I remain destitute upon my rock. My fortune was 
wholly in that of France. In the extraordinary situation to which Fate had 

H 



114 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. VII. 

raised me, my treasures were hers. I had identified myself completely with 
her destinies. What other calculation Avas consistent Avith the height I had 
risen to ? Was I ever seen occupied about my personal interests ? I never 
knew any other enjoyment, any other riches, than those of the public ; so 
much so, that when Josephine, wdio had a taste for the arts, succeeded, un- 
der the sanction of my name, in acquiring some masterpieces, though they 
were in my palace, under my eyes, in my family apartments, they offended 
me ; I thought myself robbed ; they were not in the Museiim. 

" Ah ! the French people undoubtedly did much for me — more than was 
ever done before for man. But, at the same time, who ever did so much 
for them ? Who ever identified himself Avith them in the same manner ? 
But to return : after all, what could be their fears ? Were not the Cham- 
bers and the neAV Constitution sufficient guarantees for the future ? Those 
Additional Acts, against Avhich so much indignation was expressed, did they 
not carry in themselves their OAvn corrective — remedies that Avere infallible ? 
How could I have violated them ? I had not myself millions of arms ; I 
was but one man. Public opinion raised me up once more. Public opinion 
might equally put me doAvn again ; and, compared with this risk, what had I 
to gain ? 

" But as to surrounding states, England in particular, Avhat could be her 
fears, her motives, her jealousies ? We inquire in vain. W^ith our new 
Constitution, our two Chambers, had Ave not adopted her creed for the fu- 
ture ? Was not that the sure means of coming to a mutual understandinar, 
to establish in future a community of interests ? The caprice, the passions 
of their rulers once fettered, the interests of the people move on, Avithout ob- 
stacle, in their natural course. Look at the merchants of hostile nations. 
They continue tlieir intercourse and pursue their business, hoAvever their gov- 
ernments may Avage Avar. The two nations had arrived at that point. Thanks 
to tlieir respective Parliaments, each Avas become the guarantee for the other. 
And Avho can ever tell to Avhat extent the union of the two nations and of 
their interests might be carried ? Avhat new combinations might be set at 
Avork ? It is certain that, on the establishment of our two Chambers and our 
Constitution, the ministers of England held in their hands the glory and the 
prosperity of their country, the destinies and the Avelfare of the Avorld. Had 
I beaten the English army and Avon my last battle, I Avould have caused a 
great and happy astonishment. The folloAving day I Avould liaA'e proposed 
peace, and for once it Avould have been I Avho scattered benefits Avith a prod- 
igal hand. Instead of this, perhaps the English Avill one day have to lament 
that they Avere victorious at Waterloo. 

" I repeat it, the people and the soA^creigns Avere AA-rong. I had restored 
thrones and an inoffensive nobility ; and thrones and nobility may again find 
themselves in dansrer. I had fixed and consecrated the reasonable limits of 
the people's rights. Vague, peremptory, and undefined claims may again 
arise. Had my return, my establishment on the throne, my adoption been 
freely acquiesced in by the sovereigns, the cause of kings and of the people 
Avould have been settled. Both Avould have gained. Noav they are again to 



1816, March.] RESIDExNCE AT LONGWOOD. 115 

try it. Both maj lose. They might have concluded every thing ; they may 
have every thing to begin again. They might have secured a long and certain 
calm, and have already begun to enjoy it ; but, instead of this, a spark may 
now be suihcient to reproduce a universal conflagration." 

These are certainly remarkable utterances, and -indicate the movements of 
a serious, earnest, and far-reaching intellect. M. Benjamin Constant, one of 
the most illustrious of writers and of men, and a zealous Republican, records 
an interview he held with Napoleon at the Tuileries immediately after the 
Emperor's return from Elba. It was with the Emperor an hour of exulta- 
tion. He was again seated upon the throne of France. But the profound 
political maxims which the Emperor expressed in the day of his prosperity 
were the same with those he cherished in the period of adversity.* 




THE EMrEUOlt's KETUHN TO THE 'I L ILERIES 



" I went to the Tuileries," says M. Constant. " I found Bonaparte. alone. 
He began the conversation. It was long. I will only give an analysis of 
it, for I do not propose to make an exhibition of an unfortunate man. I 
will not amuse my readers at the expense of fallen greatness. I will not give- 
up to malevolent curiosity him whom I have served, whatever might be my 
motive, and I will not describe more of his discourse than is indispensable, 
but in what I shall transcribe I will use his own words. 

" He did not attempt to deceive me either as to his views or the state of 
affairs. He did not present himself as one corrected by the lessons of adver- 

♦ Minerve Franr^ais, 94 liv,, tome viii., Second Letter on the Hundred Bays. By M. B. Constant. 



116 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ClIAP. VII. 

sitj. He (lid not desire to take the merit of returning to liberty from incli- 
nation, lie investigated coolly as regarded liis interest, and with an impar- 
tiality,' too, nearly allied to inditference, what was possible and what was pref- 
erable. 

" 'The nation,' said he, 'has rested for twelve years from all political ag- 
itation, and for a year it has been undisturbed by war. This double repose 
has begotten a necessity for motion. It desires, or fancies it desires, a pub- 
lic rostnim and assemblies. It has not always desired them. It east itself 
at my feet when I came to the government. You must remember, you Avho 
made trial of its opinion. Where was your support, your power ? Nowhere, 
£ took less authority than 1 was invited to take. Now all is changed. A 
weak government, opposed to the interests of the nation, has given these in- 
terests the habit of taking up the defensive, and of caviling at authority. 
The taste for constitutions, debates, harangues, seems to return. However, 
it is only the minority that desires it. Do not deceive yourself. The peo- 
ple, or, if you like it better, the mob, desire me alone. Plave you not seen 
them, this mob, crowding after mc, rushing from the tops of the mountains, 
calling me, seeking me, saluting me ? 

" ' On my return here from Cannes I did not conquer, I administered. I 
um not only, as has been said, the Emperor of the soldiers, I am the Em- 
peror of the peasants, the lower ranks in France. Thus, in spite of all that 
is past, you see the peojjle return to me. There is a sympathy between us. 
It is not so with the privileged classes. The nobility have served me, have 
rushed in crowds into my antechambers. There are no offices which they 
have not accepted, solicited, pressed for. I have had my IMontmorencies, my 
Noailles, my Ivohans, my lieauveaus, my IMortemarts, but there was no sym- 
pathy between us. The steed curveted ; he was well trained, but I perceived 
that he fretted. With the people it is another thing. The popular fibre re- 
sponds to mine. I am come from the ranks of the people. ]\Iy voice has in- 
iiuence over them. Observe these conscripts, these sons of peasants ; I did 
not flatter them, I treated them with severity. They did not the less sur- 
round me, they did not the less shout ^T/ie Emperor foirner.'' It is be- 
cause between them and me there is an identity of nature. They look to me 
as their support, their defender against the nobles. I have but to make a 
sign, or, rathei", to turn away my eyes, and the nobles will be massacred in 
all the departments : they have carried on such intrigues for these last six 
months. But I will not be the king of a mob. If there arc any means of 
governing witli a Constitution, well and good. I desired the empire of the 
world, and to insure it, unlimited power was necessary to me. To gov- 
ern France only, a Constitution may be better. I desired the ejnpire of the 
world, and who, in my situation, Avould not ? The world invited me to gov- 
ern it. Sovereigns and subjects vied with each other in hastening beneath 
my sceptre. 

" ' I have rarely found any opposition in France ; but I have, however, 
met with moi-e from some obscure unarmed Frenchmen, tlian from all these 
kings, so vain at present of no longer having a popular man for their equal. 



1816, March.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 117 

Consider, then, what seems to you to be possible. Give me your ideas. 
Free elections, public discussions, responsible ministers, liberty, all this is my 
wish ; the liberty of the press in particular. To stifle it is absurd. I am 
satisfied upon this point. I am the man of the people. If the people sin- 
cerely wish for liberty, I owe it them. I have recognized their sovereignty. 
I am bound to lend an ear to their desires, even to their caprices. I never de- 
sired to oppress them for my own gratification. I had great designs. Fate 
has decided them. I am no longer a conqueror ; I can no more become so. 
I know what is possible and what is not. I have now but one charge, to 
relieve France and give her a government suited to her. I am not inimical 
to liberty. I set it aside when it obstructed my road, but I comprehend it ; 
I have been educated in its principles. At the same time, the work of fifteen 
years is destroyed. It can not begin again. It would require twenty years, 
and the sacrifice of two millions of men. Besides, I am desirous of peace, 
and I shall obtain it only by dint of victories. I will not hold out false hopes 
to you. I abstain from telling you that there are negotiations in train ; there 
are none. I foresee a difficult contest, a long war. To maintain it, the na- 
tion must support me ; but, in return, slic will require liberty; she shall have 
it. The situation is new. I desire no better than to receive information. 
I grow old ; one is no longer at forty-five what one was at thirty. The re- 
pose of a constitutional monarch may be well suited to me. It will assured- 
ly be still more suitable for my son.'" 



CIIAPTEE VIII. 
1816, March. Continued. 



New Insult to the Emperor — Execution of Marshal Ney — Message to the Prince Regent — Wretch- 
ed Food — Remarks on the CJracchi — Sleep during Battle — Historians — Military Characters — 
iSoult, Masscna — Political Confessions — Marmont — Murat — Berthier — Danger in Battle — Bul- 
letins — Summary of nine Months. 

JSIarck 15. The ]^niperor» had requested the grand marshal to write to the 
admiral to ascertain if a letter which he should write to the Prince Hegent 
would be forwarded. It was the liimperor's intention to employ this method, 
the only one which seemed compatible with his character, to write to his wife 
and obtain tidings of his son. 

Sir George Cockburn insultingly replied to General Bertrand that he knew 
no ])erson by the title of Fymparor at St. Helena, and that lie should not al- 
low any letter to leave the island without first examining it himself. The 
l^^mperor, of course, decided that he could not submit to such an indignity. 
His heart was lacerated in being thus barbarously deprived of all intercourse, 
even by letter, with his wife and his' idolized son. His desire to correspond 
with them was so great, that he was willing .to submit to send the open let- 
ters to the reigning King of England, but he would endure any agony of 
a crushed spirit rather than open his letters to the insolent officials of St. 
Helena. The world will do homage to this spirit. 



* 
118 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. VIII. 



A frio'afe arrived, brinoing Ijuropeaii papers to tlie 31st of December. 
They coutaiucd infonnatiou of tlie execution of Marshal Ney, and of the es- 
cape of Lavalette. 

"Ney," said the Kmpcror, "as ill attacked as he was ill defended, has 
been condemned by the Cluiniber of Peers in the tcetli of a formal capitula- 
tion. His execution has been allowed to take place. That is another eiTor. 
l"'rom that moment he became a martyr. That Labedoyere should not have 
been pardoned, because the clemency extended to him would seem only a 
predilection in favor of the old aristocracy, might be conceived, but the par- 
don of Ney Avould only have been a proof of the strcngtli of the government 
and the moderation of the prince. It will be said, perhaps, that an example 
-vvas necessary ; but the marshal could become so, much more certainly, by 
a pardon, after having been degraded by a sentence. It Avas to him, in fact, 
a moral death that deprived him of all inlluence, and, nevertheless, the object 
of authority would be obtained, the sovereign satisfied, the examjile complete. 



T^^fe#%^-Ac 




EXECUilO.N Of MAK^HAL NEY 



1816, March.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 119 

The refusal of pardon to Lavalette, and his escape, are new subjects of ani- 
madversion equally unpopular. 

" But the saloons in Paris exhibit the same passions as the clubs. The 
nobility are a new version of the Jacobins. Europe, moreover, is in a state 
of complete anarchy. The code of political immorality is openly followed. 
Whatever falls under the hands of the sovereigns is turned to the advantage 
of each of them. At least, in my time, I was the butt of all the accusations 
of this kind. The sovereigns then talked of nothing bat principle and virtue ; 
but, now that they are victorious and without control, they practice unblush- 
ingly all the wrongs which they themselves then reprobated. What resource 
and what hope are then left for nations and for morality? Our countrywom- 
en, at least, have rendered their sentiments conspicuous. Madam Labedoy- 
ere is on the point of dying from grief. These papers show us that Madam 
Ney exhibited the most courageous and determined devotion. Madam Lava- 
lette has become the heroine of Europe." 

March 16. The captain of a frigate which was about to >sail for England 
was presented to the Emperor. Napoleon was deeply depressed in spirits, 
but was roused by the question if he had any letters to send to Europe. He 
requested Las Casas to ask the captain if he should see the Prince Regent. 
On being answered in the affirmative, the Emperor directed Las Casas to in- 
terpret to the captain the following message to the Prince Regent : 

" I was desirous of writing to the Prince Regent, but, in consequence of 
the observation of the admiral that he Avould open the letter, I have abstained 
from it, as being inconsistent with my dignity and that of the Prince Regent 
himself. I have, indeed, heard the laAvs of England much boasted of, but I 
can not discover their benefits any where. I have only now to expect, even 
to desire, an executioner. The tortures t]^ey make me endure are inhuman, 
savage. It would have been more open and energetic to put me to death." 

March 17. At four o'clock in the afternoon, an English colonel, on his re- 
turn to Europe from the Isle of France, was presented to the Emperor. The 
isle had been ceded by the Bourbons to the English, and its prosperity had 
suffered materially by the change. 

"The person of the Emperor," said the colonel, "remains very dear to 
the inhabitants of the Isle of France. The name of Napoleon is never pro- 
nounced there but with commiseration. It was on the day of a great festival 
that they learned of the fall of the Emperor after the disaster of Waterloo. 
The theatre that evening was to be unusually attractive, but the sympathy 
and grief were so strong that not a single colonist appeared at the entertain- 
ment. There were some English there, who were exceedingly confused and 
irritated by the circumstance." 

The Emperor was for a moment silent after listening to this recital. He 
then said, " It is quite plain. This proves that the inhabitants of the Isle of 
France have continued French. I am the country ; they love it. It has 
been wounded in my person; they are grieved at it." 

It was remarked that, in consequence of a change of dominion, they did 
not dare to propose his health publicly, but they never neglect it, notwith- 



120 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. VIII. 

standing. They drink to "///m." This word is consecrated to Napo- 
leon. 

The Emperor seemed much touched by these proofs of continued affection. 
" Poor Frenchmen ! poor peojjle ! poor nation !" he exclaimed. " I deserved 
all that ; I loved thee ! But thou, thou surely didst not deserve all the ills 
that press upon thee ! Ah ! thou didst merit well that one should devote 
himself to thee ! But it must be confessed what infamy, what baseness, 
what de2;radation I had about me ! " 

Journals which had recently arrived contained many tokens of the affection 
with which Napoleon was still regarded by the people. The English who 
took possession of the desert island of Ascension found engraved upon a rock 
upon the beach, '•'•May the great Napoleon live forever.'''' There was also 
in the papers, in several languages, a jeux de mots, " Paris will never be 
happy till his Helena shall be restored to him." " These," says Las Casas, 
"were a few drops of honey in our cup of wormwood." 

March 18-19. The Emperor was suffering much in health for want of 
exercise. He seldom rode on horseback in consequence of the very limited 
space to which he 'was confined. "After dinner," says Las Casas, "we 
could not help reverting to the meal we had just made ; literally nothing was 
fit to eat ; the bread bad ; the wine not drinkable ; the meat disgusting and 
unwholesome.' The Emperor could not refrain from saying with warmth, 

"No doubt there are some individuals whose physical situation is still 
worse than ours, but that circumstance does not deprive us of the right of 
giving an opinion on our condition, or of the infamous manner in which we 
are treated. The injustice of the English government has not been content- 
ed in sending us hither ; it has selected the individuals to whom our persons 
and our supplies are intrusted. For my part, I should suffer less if I were 
sure that our treatment would be one day divulged to the world in such a 
way as to brand with infamy those who are guilty of it. But let us talk of 
something else." 

March 22. The Emperor read to his companions some pages on Roman 
history. Speaking of the Gracchi, he said, 

" History presents these Gracchi, in the aggregate, as seditious people, 
revolutionists, criminals, and nevertheless allows it to appear in detail that 
they had virtues — that they were gentle, disinterested, moral men ; and, be- 
sides, they were the sons of the illustrious Cornelia, which, to great minds, 
ought to be a strong primary presumption in their favor. How, then, can 
such a contrast be accounted for ? It is thus : 

" The Gracchi generously devoted themselves for the rights of the oppress- 
ed people against a tyrannical senate. Their great talents and noble charac- 
ter endangered a ferocious aristocracy, Avhich triumphed, murdered, and ca- 
lumniated them. The historiiins of a party have transmitted their characters 
in the same spirit. Under the emperors it was necessary to continue in the 
same manner. The bare mention of the rights of the people, under a des- 
potic master, was a blasphemy, a downright crime. Afterward the case was 
the same under the feudal system, which was so fruitful in petty despots. 



1816, March.] 



RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



121 



Such, no doubt, is the fatality which has attended the memory of the Gracchi. 
Throughout succeeding ages, their virtues have never ceased to be considered 
crimes ; but at this day, when, possessed of better information, we have 
thought it expedient to reason, the Gracchi may, and ought, to find favor in 
our eyes. 

" In that terrible struggle between the aristocracy and the democracy, 
which has been renewed in our time — in that exasperation of ancient territory 
against modern industry, which still ferments throughout Europe, there is 
no doubt but that, if the aristocracy should triumph by force, it would point 
out many Gracchi in all directions, and treat them, in future, with as little 
mercy as its predecessors have done the Gracchi of E-ome." 

Continuing his criticisms, the Emperor remarked upon what he called his- 
torical follies, ridiculously exalted by translators and commentators. 

"Such things prove, in the first place," said he, "that the historians 
formed erroneous judgments of men and circumstances — for instance, Avhen 
they applaud so highly the continence of Scijno, and fall into ecstasies at the 
calmness of Alexander, Cajsar, and others, for having been able to sleep on 
the eve of battle. Even a monk debarred from women, whose face bright- 
ens up at the very name, who neighs behind his barrier at their approach, 
would not give Scipio much credit for forbearing to violate the females whom 
chance threw into his power, while he had so many others entirely at his 
disposal. A famished man might as well praise the hero for having quietly 
passed by a table covered with victuals without greedily snatching at them. 
As to sleeping just before a battle, there is not one of our soldiers or gener- 
als who has not twenty times performed that miracle. Their chief heroism 
lay in supporting the fatigue of watching the day before." 

General Bertrand remarked, " I can safely say that I have seen your majes- 
ty sleep, not only on the eve of an engagement, but even during the battle." 




THE EMPEROR ASLEEP AT WAGRAM. 



"I was obliged to do so," said Napoleon, "when I fought battles that 



122 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ClIAP. YIII. 

lasted three days. Nature was also to have lier due. I took advantage of 
the smallest intervals, and slept when and where I could. Independently 
of the necessity of obeying nature, these slumbers afford a general command- 
ing a. very great army the important advantage of enabling him to await 
calmly the relations and combinations of all his divisions, instead of, per- 
haps, being hurried away by the only event which he himself could witness." 
The ]'hnpcror tlien reverted to the Gallic war as narrated by Civsar and 
by Rollin : "I can not comprehend," said he, "the invasion of the Hel- 
vetii, the road they took, tlie object ascribed to them, the time they spent 
in crossing the Ixhine, the diligence of Caesar, who found time to go into Italy, 
as far as .Vquileia, to seek the legions, and overtook the invaders before the^i 
had passed the Saone. It is equally difficult to comprehend Avhat is meant 
by establishing winter quarters that extended from Treves to Vannes. 

"Ancient history, however," he continued, "embraces a long period, and 
the system of war often changes. In our days it is no longer that of the 
time of Turenne and A'aiiban. Campaign works arc growing useless. Even 
the system of our fortresses have become problematical or inetfcctual. The 
enormous tpiantity of bombs and howitzers change every thing. It is no 
longer against the horizontal attack that defense is requisite, but also against 
the curve and the rcHected lines. None of the ancient fortresses now afford 
shelter ; they have ceased to be tenable : no country is rich enough to main- 
tain them. The revenue of France would be insufficient for her lines of 
blandcrs, for the exterior fortifications are not now above a fourth or tifth 
of the necessary expense. Casements, magazines, places of shelter secure 
from the effects of bombs, are now requisite, and they are too expensive. 

" j\lodcrn masonry is exceedingly defective in strength. The engineer de- 
partment is radiciUly weak in this point. It cost me immense sums, Avhich 
have been wholly thrown away. To meet this difficulty, I invented a system 
altogether at variance with the axioms hitherto established. It was to have 
metal of an extraordinary calibre to advance beyond the principal line toward 
the enemv, and to have the principal line itself, on the contrary, defended 
by a great quantity of small, movable artillery. Hence the enemy would be 
stopped short in his sudden advance. He would have oidy weak pieces to 
attack powerful ones Avith. He would be commanded by this great calibre, 
roTmd which the resources of the fortress, the small pieces, would fonn in 
gi-oiips, or even advance to a distance as skirmishers, and might follow all the 
movements of the enemy by means of their lightness and mobility. The en- 
emy would then stand in need of battering cannon. He would be obliged to 
open trenches. Time woidd be gained, and the true object of fortification ac- 
complished. I employed this method with great success, and to the great as- 
tonishment of the engineers, in the defense of Vienna and in that of Dresden. 
I wished to employ it in that of Paris, Avhich city can not, I think, be de- 
fended by any other means. But of the success of this method I have no 
doubt." 

Jfafc/i 23—26. For five days the rain foil in floods, and none of the inmates 
of Longwood could leave their danq) and gloomy apartments. The Emperor 



RESIDENCE AT LOx\GWOOD. 



123 



1816, March.] 

read, with much disgust, a calumnious work by Miss Williams, on the return 
from the island of Elba. It was merely a collection of all the malevolent ru- 
mors circulated by the Royalists in those times. The evenings, even when 
the weather was pleasant, were invariably spent in the house, as at 9 o'clock 
the dwelling was surrounded by sentinels, and the Emperor could not pass 
them unless under the guard of an English officer. He sat down to dinner 
at 8 o'clock, and never remained at the table more than half an hour, fre- 
quently not more than fifteen minutes. He then returned to the drawing- 
room, where he conversed with his friends till half past nine or ten o'clock. 
When cheerful, and the conversation became animated, the social interview 
was continued until eleven o'clock. 

One of these evenings the conversation turned upon the trials, which were 
then going on in France, ©f the friends of Napoleon, who, upon his return from 
Elba, had deserted the Bourbons. He spoke of Marshal Soult. 




POUTUAIT OF MARSHAL SOL'LT. 



" Soult," said he, "I know to be innocent. And yet, were it not for that 
fact, were I a juror in Soult's case, I have no doubt that I should declare 
him guilty, so strongly are appearances combined against him. Soult even 
acknowledged to me that he had taken a real liking to the king. The au- 
thority he enjoyed under him, he said, so different from that of my ministers, 
was a very agreeable thing, and had quite gained him over." 

" Massena is another person whom they will perhaps condemn as guilty 
of treason. Appearances are overwhelming against him, and yet he fulfilled 



124 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChaP. YIII. 

his duty up to the very moment of declaring himself openly. The truth is, 
that all the commanders did their duty ; but they could not withstand the 
torrents of opinion, and no one had sufficiently calculated the sentiments of 
the mass of the people, and the national impetuosity. Carnot, Fouche, Ma- 
ret, and Cambaceres confessed to me at Paris that they had been greatly 
deceived on this point ; and no one understands it well even now. 

" Had the king," Napoleon continued, " remained longer in France, he 
would probably have lost his life in some insurrection. But had he fallen 
into my hands, I should have thought myself strong enovigh to have allowed 
him every enjoyment in some retreat of his own selection, as Ferdinand was 
treated at Valen9ay." 

Immediately after this conversation, the Emperor engaged in a game of 
chess with Las Casas. His king having accidentally fallen from the board, 
he exclaimed, 

"Ah! my poor king, you are down!" 

Las Casas picked the piece up, and restored it to him in a mutilated 
state. 

" Horrid !" said the Emperor ; "I certainly do not accept the omen, and I 
am far from wishing any such thing. My eimiity does not extend so far." 

In reference to this characteristic incident. Las Casas writes, "I would not, 
on any account, have omitted this circumstance, trifling as it may appear, 
because it is, in many respects, characteristic. We ourselves, when the Em- 
peror had retired, reverted to the incident. What cheerfulness ! wluit free- 
dom of mind in such dreadful circumstances ! we said. What serenity in 
the heart ! what absence of malice, irritation, or hatred ! Who could discover 
in him the man whom enmity and falsehood have depicted as a monster? 
Even among his own followers, Avho is there that has well understood him, 
or taken sufficient pains to make him known ?" 

Another evening the Emperor was speaking of the companions of his early 
years. Reference was made to one whom Napoleon, wdien first placed in 
command of tlie army of Italy, had loaded with favors, but who soon after- 
ward abandoned his general to attach himself to the Directory. He did not 
venture afterward to seek the favor of one whom he had forsaken. 

"Nevertheless," said the Emperor, "when once I was seated on the 
tlirone, he might have done much with me if he had known how to set about 
it. He had the claim of early friendship, which never loses its influence. I 
could certainly never have withstood an unexpected overture in a liunting- 
party, for instance, or half an hour's conversation on old times at any other 
opportunity. I should have forgotten his conduct. It was no longer im- 
portant whether he had been on my side or not. I had united all parties. 
Those who had an insight into my character were well aware of this. They 
knew that, with me, liowev^r well I might have been disposed toward them, 
it was like the game of prison-bars. When once the point was touched, the 
game was won. In ff\ct, if I wished to withstand them, I had no resource 
but that of refusing to see them." 

March 27. The Emperor was walking in the garden with Count Las 



1816, March.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. l25 

Casas and Count Bertrand, when the following interesting conversation took 
place between them. 

" I was a verj warm and sincere Republican," said the Emperor, "at the 
commencement of the Revolution. I cooled by degrees, in proportion as 1 
acquired more just and solid ideas. My patriotism sunk under the political 
absurdities and monstrous domestic excesses of our Legislatures. Finally, 
my Republican faith vanished on the violation of the choice of the people by 
the Directory at the time of the battle of Aboukir." 

"For my part," said the grand marshal, "I was never a Republican. 1 
was a very warm Constitutionalist until the 10th of August. The horrors 
of that day cured me of all illusion. I came very near being massacred in 
defending the king at the Tuileries." 

"As for me," added Las Casas, "it was notorious that I commenced my 
career a pure and ardent Royalist." 

" Why, then," said the Emperor, with vivacity, " it seems, gentlemen, that 
I am the only one among us who has been a Republican." 

" And something more, sire," both Las Casas and Bertrand exclaimed. 

"Yes," repeated the Emperor, "Republican and patriot." 

"And I have been a patriot, sire," repeated Las Casas, "notwithstanding 
my royalism ; but, what is still more extraordinary, I did not become so tiU, 
the period of the imperial reign." 

"How! you rogue!" rejoined the Emperor; "are you compelled to own 
that you did not always love your country ?" 

"Sire," replied Las Casas, "we are making our political self-examina- 
tion, are we not ? I confess my sins. When I returned to Paris by virtue 
of your amnesty, could I at first look upon myself as a Frenchman, when 
every law, every decree, every ordinance that covered the walls constantly 
added the most opprobrious epithets to my unlucky denomination of emigrant? 
Nor did I think of remaining when I first arrived. I had been attracted by 
curiosity, yielding to the invincible influence of one's native land, and the de- 
sire of breathing the air of one's country. I now possessed nothing there. 
I had been compelled, at the frontier, to swear to the relinquishment of my 
patrimony, to accede to the laws which decreed its loss. I looked on myself 
as a mere traveler in that land, once mine. I was a true foreigner, discon- 
tented, and even malevolent. The Empire came. It was a great event. 
'Now,' said I, 'my manners, prejudices, and principles triumph; the only 
difference is in the person of the sovereign. When the campaign of Auster-. 
litz opened, my heart, with surprise, found itself once more French. My sit- 
uation was painful. I was divided between blind passion and national sen- 
timent. The triumph of the French army and their general displeased me, 
yet their defeat would have humbled me. At length the prodigies of Ulm 
and the splendor of Austerlitz put an end to my embarrassment. I was van- 
quished by glory. I admired, I acknowledged, I loved Napoleon. From 
that moment I became French to enthusiasm. Henceforth I have had no 
other thoughts, spoke no other language, felt no other sentiments ; and here 
I am by your side.'" 



126 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChaP. VIII. 

"It must be admitted," said the Emperor, "that our being assembled at 
St. Helena from political causes is certainly a most extraordinary circum- 
stance. We have come to a common centre by roads originally in very dif- 
ferent directions. We have, however, traveled through them Avith sincerity. 
N^othing more clearly proves the sort of chance, the uncertainty, and the fa- 
tality which usually, in the labyrinth of revolutions, direct upright and hon- 
est hearts, nor can any thing more clearly prove how necessary indulgence 
and intelligent views are to recompose society after long disorders. This 
disposition and these principles made me the most suitable man for the cir- 
cumstances of Urumaire. These views, without doubt, render me the most 
suitable person for the present state of France. On this point I have neither 
distrust, prejudice, nor passion. I constantly employed men of all classes, 
of all parties, without ever looking back, without inquiring what they had 
done, what they had said, Avliat they had thought, only requiring that they 
should pursue in future, and with sincerity, the common object — the welfare 
and the glory of all — that they should show themselves true and good French- 
men. Above all, I never made overtures to leaders in order to gain over 
parties. On the contrary, I approached the mass of the parties, that I might 
be in a situation to despise their leaders. Such has ever been the uniform 
system of my internal policy, and, in spite of the last events, I am far from 
repenting of it. If I had to begin again, I should pursue the same course. 

" It is totally unreasonable to reproach me with having employed nobles 
and emigrants. It is a trite and vulgar imputation. The fact is, that un- 
der me there existed in France only individual opinions and sentiments. 
The nobles and the emigrants have not brought about the restoration ; it is 
rather the restoration wliich has raised the nobles and the emigrants. They 
have not contributed more particularly to our ruin than others. Those re- 
ally in fault are the intriguers of all parties and all opinions. Fouche was not 
a noble. Talleyrand was not an emigrant. Augereau and ]\Iarmont were 
neither. To conclude, do you desire a final proof of the injustice of blaming 
whole classes Avhen a revolution like ours has operated in the midst of them ? 
Look at yourselves here. Among four, you find two nobles, one of whom 
was even an emigrant. The excellent M. de Segur, in spite of his age, at 
my departure offered to follow me. I could multiply examples Avithout end. 

" It is Avith as little reason that I have been blamed for neglecting certain 
persons of influence. I Avas too powerful not to despise Avith impunity the 
intrigues and the knoAvn immorality of the greater part of them. Neither 
had that any thing to do Avith my doAA^nfall, but only unforeseen and unheard- 
of catastrophes, compulsory circumstances, five hundred thousand men at the 
gates of the capital, a re\'olution still recent, a crisis too powerful for French 
• heads, and, above all, a dynasty too recent. I Avould have risen, cA'^en from 
the foot of the Pyrenees, could I have been my OAvn grandson. And, more- 
over, what a fascination there is respecting past times ! It is most certain 
that I Avas chosen by the French. Their new Avorship was their own work. 
AVell, immediately upon the return of the old forms, see with Avhat facility 
they have recurred to idols ! 



1816, March.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 127" 

^"^And, after all, how could another line of policj have prevented that which 
ruined me ? I have been betrayed by Marmont, whom I might call my son, 
my offspring, my own work. To his hand I had committed my destinies by 
sending him to Paris at the very moment that he was putting the finishing- 
hand to his treason and my ruin. I have been betrayed by Murat, whom I 
had raised from a soldier to a king, who was my sister's husband. I have 
been betrayed by Berthier, a mere goose, whom I had converted into a kind 
of eagle. I have been betrayed in the senate by those very men of the na- 
tional party who owe every thing to me. My fall, then, did not in any way 
depend upon my system of internal policy. Undoubtedly one might accuse 
me of having employed too readily old enemies, whether nobles or emigrants, 
if a Macdonald, a Valence, a Montesquieu had betrayed me ; but they were 
faithful. If one objects to me the stupidity of Murat and Berthier, I oppose 
to this the judgment of Marmont. I have, then, no cause to repent of my 
interior system of policy." 

March 28. At the dinner-table it was remarked that one in thirty of the 
ships engaged in the China trade were lost at sea. 

"The dangers of battle," said the Emperor, "are less than that. At 
Wagram we were one hundred and sixty thousand. I do not think that the 
killed were more than three thousand. That is only a fiftieth. At Essling, 
where we were forty thousand, about four thousand were killed. This was 
a tenth ; but it was one of the most severe battles. The others were Licom- 
parably below." 

The conversation then turned upon the correctness of bulletins. The Em- 
peror declared that his were very correct. "Except," said he, "when the 
proximity of the enemy compelled me to disguise, that when they came into 
their hands they might not derive any information prejudicial to me from 
them, all the remainder were very exact. If they have acquired an ill repu- 
tation in our armies, if it was a common saying '■ as false as a bulletin.,'' it 
was personal rivalship, party spirit, that had established it. It was the 
wounded self-love of those whom it had been forgotten to mention in thera^, 
and who had, or fancied they had, a right to a place there, and, still more 
than all, our ridiculous national defect of having no greater enemies to our 
successes and our glory than we were ourselves." 

The rain was falling in torrents. After dinner the Emperor played a game 
of chess, and retired early to his bed. 

March 29—31. The weather was damp and dismal. Dense fog enveloped 
the island, accompanied by drizzling rain. The Emperor's health was visibly 
declining. " We all suffered," says Las Casas ; "besides, we a-re absolutely 
infested with rats, fleas, and bugs. Our sleep is disturbed by them, so that 
our troubles by night are in perfect harmony with those by day. Yet never 
do we hear a complaint from the Emperor. His great soul suffers nothing 
to overcome it." In the course of conversation the Emperor observed, speak- 
ing of Egypt and Syria, 

" If I had taken St. Jean d'Acre, as ought to have been the case, I should 
have wrought a revolution in the East. The most trivial circumstances lead 



128 NAl'OLKON AT t^l" llKl.KNA. [C'll.U'. \'lll. 

to the most sovious ovouts. 'I'lio woaknoss of a captain oi' a tVii;ato, who 
stood out to soa iusti-ail ot* toning jv passage into tlio harbor, sonio trltiing 
iiiHUHliuu-uts with n-sjxH'l io sonu- shallops or light vossols, proMMitoil iho 
taoo ot' tho NviuKl tVoMi In-ing changtHl. Possossoil of St.. lean ilWrre, tho 
ruMu-h aruiv wouUl ha\(> llown to l)aniasc'us and Aloppo. In a (winkling it 
wonlil ha\o Wcu on tho l^aiphratcs. The Christians of Syria, the Druses, 
the Christians ot" Arnu-nia, ^vollhl have joined it. Nations were on the point 
of being shaken." 

** ^ on wonKl svhmi," saiil Las Casas, " have been re-entoreeil by tour hund- 
red thousand men." 

'* Sav rather," the I'hnpiMor n^plied, ''by six htuuh'ed thousand. Who 
can ealeuhite what it might have been? 1 should have reai'heil t'Onstanti- 
nople i\nd the Indies. I should ha\t' changed the face of the world." 

Nine months hud now elapseil since Napoleon left France. Las Casas 
gives the folknving summavy of its i>vents: 

"Ontpiitting I'Vance, we remaintnl t'ora month at the dispi>sal of the bru- 
tal ami feroeiiuis Mnglish ministry. Then our passagv to St. Helena in-eu- 
pioil three months, (hi our landing we oeenpied the r>riers nearly two 
months. Lastlv, we have been three months at Longwooil. 

" All the time of our stay at Plymouth, Napoleon remained thonghtt"ul and 
merelv passive, exerting no powi-r but patience. Uis nusfortunes wove so 
irrcat and so incapable of renunlv, that he sutfered events to take their course 
with astoieal inditVerence. IHiring the whole oi' onv passage he constantly 
possessed a perfect equanimity; he expressed no wish, manifested no disap- 
pointment. Uis true, the greatest respect was ]vud to him. lie received it 
without noticing it. lie spoke little, and the subject w;is always foi"cign to 
himself Any one who, coming suddenly on board, hail witiu\sscd his con- 
versation, would nndoubtedly have been far from guessing with whom he 
was in company. I can not better picture him in this circumstance than 
by comparing him to those passengers of high distinction who are conveyed 
\\h\\ great respect to their destination. 

" Chir abode at the Hriers pivscntcil another shade i>f ditfcnMice. Napi>- 
leon, left ahnost entirely to himself, receiving nobody, constantly employed, 
seennng to forgvt events and uumi, enjoyed, apparently, the calm anil the peace 
of a profound solitude, cither from abstraction or contempt not coudescond- 
ing to notice the ineon\eniences or privations w ith w Inch he was snrrouiuled. 
If he now and then dropped an expression relative to them, it was ordy when 
roused bv tlu> importunity oi' sonu> I'higlishman, or wlum excited by the re- 
cital of the outrages his attendants sutVered. Uis whole day was occupied 
in dictation ; the rest of the time was dedicated to the relaxation of familiar 
conversation, lie never jncntioned the atVairs of Europe, spoke nu-cly of the 
I'hnpiiv, very little of the Oons\d;ite, but nuich of his situation as gxMicral in 
Italy ; still more, and nlmost constantly, oi' the mimitest details of his child- 
hooil and early youth. The latter suhjocts especially seemed at this time 
to have a pccidiar charm for him ; it was almost exclusively with these olv 
jocts that he employed the many hours of his nightly walks by moonlight. 



1810, April.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 129 

" Finally, our cstablLshinent at Longwood was a fourth and last change. 
AH our situations hitherto had been but short and transitory ; this was fixed, 
and threatened to }je lastijig. There, in r(;aiity, were to commence our exile 
and our ii(tw destinies. J listory will take them up there. There the eyes 
of" the world were to be directed to consider us. The Emperor, seeming to 
make this his calculation, regulates all a)>out him, and takes the attitude of 
dignity oppressed by power. He traces around him a moral boundary, be- 
hind which he defends himself, inch by inch, against indignity and insult. 
11(; no longer com[)romises any thing with liis persecutors. He shows him- 
self sensibly jealous in respect to forms, and hostile to all encroachments. 

" It was no small surprise to us, nor a slight satisfaction, to have to observe 
among ours(;lves that, without knowing how or why, it was nevertheless per- 
ceptible that the Em]H;ror now stood higher in the opinion and the respect 
of the JOnglish than he had hitherto done. We could even perceive that this 
sentiment was every day increasing. With us, the Emperor entered fully 
into the affairs of J^^urope. He analyzed the projects and the conduct of the 
sovereigns. He compared them with his own; weighed, separated, spoke 
of his reign, of his deeds ; in a word, we once more found the Emperor, and 
all Najjoleon. Not that he had ever ceased to be so for an instant as re- 
garded our devotion and our attention, nor that we, on our side, had any 
thing to endure. Never did we experience a more even temper, a more con- 
stant kindness, a more unaltered affection. 

"'i'he l^hnperor's healtii," continues Las tJasas, "visibly declines, but 
never do we hear a complaint from him. His great soul suffers nothing to 
overcome it, and even contrilMitcs to deceive him with respect to his own 
state. But we can see him decay very j)erceptibly." 



CIIAP1^]]R IX 

1810, A])riL 

GonHpiracicH — Measures tliat might have been adopted after Waterloo — Characteristic Fruits — The 
State of ]Ouro|je — Asceridetiey of Liberal Opinions — Talleyrand — Fouclie — J'(jlitical Kcfleetions — 
Arrival of Hir IlucJson Ivowe — llernarks on the lleturn from J'^lba — Introduction of tiie Govern- 
or — Character and Conduct of Sir Cieorgc Cockburn. 

Ajrnl 1. Las Casas was jtresent as the J^hnperor was making'- his toilet. 
His skin was jteculiarly soft and whit(;, and the moulding of his limbs was 
feminine in b(;auty. As he was drawing on his flannel waistcoat, Las Casas 
g;ized sleadfaslly at him wilh an expression of countenance which arrested 
the att(;ntion of the Emperor. 

"VV(^11," said Napoleon with a smile, "what is your excellency thinking 
of this niom(;nt 'f 

" Sire," Las Oasas re})lied, " in a ])amphlct which T lately read, T found it 
stated that your majesty was shielded by a coat of mail for the security of 
your person. A report of the same kind was circulated among certain classes 
in Paris. In support of the assertion, allusion was made to your majesty's. 

1 



J30 NAIHMKON AT sr mil.KNA. [V\[\V. i \. 

.<»\uKlo»i tinfHHij\HHf^ wliioh w«s 8«i*l iv» Ih> »ini(o luumtuval, I was jiisi ilimk- 
iu^' tl\{>t I ovMiM Kvu' positivo oviUouoo to tUo i>outran, juul (hat at St. llclo- 
n«, at U\'>st, all |»voautions tor j>tM'f*vnml satoty l\avo Ihvu laid asiJo." 

"Tlus," ivjoinoil tlu^ Kmpowr, "is ouo ot" tho thousatul «l>smvlitit*5j whioli 
h«vo Ihvh pu\>lisl>o*l wsjuvtiuis: mo. lUit tl\o stow you liavo just luiMitiouotl 
is tho uu>»\^ viiliv'uKnis, siuoo ovovy iuiUxiilual al>vm( un> ku^nvs how caii^loss I 
tt\u iu u\i;aul tv> solt-p»\\sorvativMu Aooustouioil, t\\nu tho agx^ v^t' oii;htoo>i, to 
W oxiHvsod to tho oa»>uv>u lv>U, au<l kuowiiiji; tho iuutility ot" j>»voautiiM»s, 1 
hIwuUmvoiI \uysolt' tv> u\y t'alo, \\ hoii I oau\o lo tho hoaJ ot' atVairs, I uui;ht 
still havo t'auoiotl ui\ st>lt' suri\MiUihHl by tlu^ *hu»^^\'oi^ v>t' th(^ tiohl v^t' Uittlo, and 
I lui^ht havo w^anloil tho ovMjspiraoiivs whioh \vo\x» toiiuoil a^aiust luo as so 
luauy boiulwsholls ; but I tblK>\\o\l uiy oKl oourso. I trustod u»y luoky star, 
auvl lot) all juvoautivMvs tv^ tlu^ |>oliot>, I was, povhaps, tho ouly sovoivimi iu 
Kuw^powho tlisjHMKsod with a bvHly-jiuanh Kvory ouo oouhl t\\>oly app\\v>»oh 
»»\o withvMit haviu^\«s it won\ tv> |k»ss tluvu^^h luilitary l>avravk>s, Tho son- 
ti»\ols at tho outor ijjato boiug" {vvssovl, all havl tVvv aoooss to oxt^y p;nt v»t" u»y 
jKihu^o. 

*' Maria Louisa was uuuh aj*tonishtHl to soo u»o sv> jHH>rly i;-uar\K\K auU 
v^ht^ ottou »vu\arkv\l that lu>r t'athor was sun\muih\l by bayvMiots. l-'or M\y 
^>i>vt» I had uo bottor ilotouso at tho Tuilorios thau I haNo ho»v. I ilou't 
ovou k»un\ \\hoi\> tv» tiuil ui\ swowl. Po \ ou soo it V" s;uvl hv\ KH»kiuvi" arvMU\il. 
" I havo. to Ih" smv, iuounvd ii'^vat vlauiiXM-s. I'pwaixl v>t" thirty plots wow 
tovnioU aj»aiust \uo. Thoso havo boo\» pnnod by authoutio tistiujouy, with- 
out montiouiug jmuu' that uo\ or oan>o to light. JSiMuo sovxMvijjfUs iuvout oou- 
spinuMOs aji'aiust tluMusolvos. Tor u>y |v>rt. I uuulo it a vulo oari>l'ullv ti> oou- 
iH\nl tluMU whouovor I oouKU Tlu" orisis luost sorivnis to u»o was duriui;- tho 
intorval tivui tl\o Ivutlo v>V Mjuvngx^ to tl»o attouipt ot" (.Jooiv^^s, aiul tho atVair 
of tho Ouko d'lMiiihi*''*'" 

As thoy wo»v vlos^vuvliug tv» tho gaixUMi, atu^r tho Kiujhmxu- hail tiuislunl 
thx'ssiuij, ho wuiarkoil, 

" riio two dosiijus ou luy litb whioh plaivd u»o iu tho luost huuiiuout dau- 
^^n' w oiv thoso ot' romohi tho soidptv>r, aud tho t'anatio ot" Sohooubruu. i \>raohi 
aiul sSo«u> othovvlosjHn'iUo wwtohos hjul laid a plai\ tor j»»y assjissiuatiou, IV 
i'j^ohi had t'oruiorly adoixnl tho First Tonsul ; b\it ho vowv^d to siu^ritioo uu\ 
\Yhou. as*l»o pivtojulovl, I had pivvod uiysolt' a tymut. This artist, who had 
o^oovUyvl uiY bust, I had Kvuiod with favoa^s, \\hou ho outoitnl iuto tho 
|vlv>t apuust uu\ ho otuloavoivtl. In- ovory possiblo ujoaus. to p»wu»v aiuuhor 
sutti»»g, uuvlor pwiouso v>t' u»akit\ii' au ossoutial iuipiwouiout ou tho bust. Koi^ 
tunatoly, I Imd not a siuvjlo nuMUOut ot' loisuiv, aud thiukiuj*: that H\mt was 
tlu* wal oauso v»t' tho urg\M»t sv4ioitativM»s ot' tho stndptvn\ I sout hint six thou- 
sjuul t'muos. Uut how was I u\istakou 1 His ival luotivo was to stab uu> 
at tho sittiujj. 

"This oouspinxoy was disolosod by a oaptaiu ot'tho liuo, who was hiujsolt" 
an a«.\H>»upliiv. This was a pnn^l' vvt' tho sinuijiv luovlitioatiotis ot' w hioh tho 
human n\itul is suswptiblo, and shows to what louiiths tho ovMubiuatious ot' 
t'v^lly and stupidity n\ay W oarritnl. This otUoor ivpuxUnl mo w ith horwr ivs 



1 H 1 0, A priL] RESIDENCE AT I/JNG WOr.U j ;. l 

/'-/>/(/( ('ouHul^ ttjouj^li )j'; li;i/J :iA<)ri;i\ isn; :>.■;'. :>. ^/nn/'/roi. Wc wln\i('A to BCC me 
<lriv<-,n iron) uiy j;Ortf., t^ut }i(; rc'y:<;U-A fJjfi id'ia of any n.iU-An\)i upon rny life. 
11*-, wiHii';'! fiiaf, I HJioul'i \)(- w.c.wrcA, hut would not, fjavf*. nu; injurf;d in any 
way. II'-. propo.-'-'l fli.'^t, I .-.IjouI'I ho Hr;nt ba<;k to t.lx; army, t.o face thf; 
«-,/j<'fny and to d<-,fi(;nd tJjf; glory of Franw. '^I'Ijo rcHt of the conHpiratorH 
laughed al (liCHe. notiouH ; hut wii';n \\i; fourxJ that tliey were dintrihuting 
poniardH, and going far heyond IiIh intentioriH, ha diHclofW'xl iIk-- whole. 

"'I'll'-, r;u/;)lic, of Sehoerd;run wan the Hon. of a VroUtHtaiii rniniHter of Kr- 
furth. lie l);(d ^in'M'-A the ',i<;i it'll icIh, and fiad bee,n twiee or thri(;e driven 
har;k, when fienend l(,;)j;j;, in the a';t of punhirjg him artidc with hlH 1/an/l, 
fi'Jt Honi'-lhing f:onef;aled under IiIh eoaf,. ThiH proved to he a knife a foot 
and a lutlf long, pointed, and nharj^ at l^oth edgen. I Hhuddered to look at 
il. It w;iH nH;rely loli'-'l up in a pi<!ee of newspaper. The a«KaHHin was 
Ifroiight into (ny elonet, and I r;;died (JorvJMart, and tWrcrXcA h'un to fwd the 
eriminjil'n |jmI;-!<; while, 1 (jue.-itioJied him. The iVMnn'Mn Htood unjnoved, eon- 
I'e.-iHifjg hi;', intende.d erinie, aii'J fre-fjuently uiuk'wi'j: (juotatiouH f'ro//» th'-, l>Jljh;. 




'I III, i/i,'(A'in; 01- h';(ioc,,wiiiii;m. 



" ' What waH your purpose here?' i inquired. 
" 'T(j kill you,' Ih', replied. 

'" What hav<- I done to oOl'iid you, ajid hy what authority do you eonsti- 
lute yourHelf my judge, ?' 

" ' I wi;d) to put an end lo tlie wiir.' 

"'And why not ■,\A(\^■^','^■^ your:-:(;ll" tfj the, l'in)pi',ror l'V;in(;i,s ?' 

" 'To him 1' he replied; ' wherefore? lie i,-i a men; eijjher. BeHldes, if he 



132 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. ' [ChAI'. IX. 

wore clead, <anotlicr would succeed him; hut wIumi \vn air gone, tlir Frciuli 
will iuuncdiately retire troin Germany.' 

"■1 vaiiih' endeavored to a]i])eal to his tidings. ' \)o you repent ?' I in- 
quired. ' Would you again atteni])t the ])erj)etration ot'your intended crime V 

" ' Yes,' he replied. 

" ' What ! if I were to ])ardon you ?' 

" Here nature tor an instant resumed her sway. The man's eountenaiiee 
and voice underwent a momentary change. 

" ' Ijven though you do,' said he, ' (rod ■will not torgi\e nu\' 

'' l>ut he immediately resumed liis ferocious expression, lie was kept in 
solitary eontinement, and without food, for four-and-twenty hours. He still 
remained the same nuin, or, to sj)eak more properly, the same ferocious brute. 
lie was left to his fate." 

Ajrril 8. The day dawned beautifully clear and serene. The lovely 
weather entieed the Kmperor out of doors, and lu^ dictated in the garden, un- 
der the shade of a tree. lie IkuI Itecn reading the account of .Mexauder's 
expedition in Ivoliiu's History, 

"It atlords," lu- said, " no just idea of the grand designs of Ali'xander. 1 
should like myself to write an accoiuit of that ex])edition." 

At five o'clock, luiving linished his dictation, he was walking in the gar- 
den, attended by all the genllenien. As Las Casas joined the company, the 
Emperor said, 

"•(^)nu\ we uuist iia\(' ^ luir opinion on a point which \V(> \v.\\v been discuss- 
ing for tlu- last half hour. ( >n my return fn^ni Waterloo, do you tliiids. that I 
coidd have dismissed theLegishiti\ e Body, and have saved France witlu)ut itV"' 

"No, sire," Las Casas replied, "it would not have been dissolved volun- 
tarily. You Avould have found it necessary to employ force, wliit'h would 
have been resrarded as scandalous. The dissatisfaction excited in the IjCiris- 
lative l^ody Avould have s])read through the whole nation. Meanwhile, the 
enemy would ha\(' arri\ed, and your majesty nuist lune surrendered, accused 
by all Furo})e, act-used by foreigners, and even by frenchmen; perha})s 
loaded Avith univ(>rsal malcdii'tion, regarded merely as an adventurer earrying 
everv thing li\- \ ioUMu-c ; but as it was, your majesty issued j)ure and un- 
sidlicd from the coutlict, and your nuMuory Avill be everlastingly cherished in 
the hearts of those Avho res])ect the cause of the people. Your majesty has, 
by A'our nutderation, insured tc) \-ourself the l)rightest charai'tt'r in history, 
while, by a diilerent line of conduct, you might have incurred tiie risk of rep- 
robation. You have lost your power, it is true, but you have gained the 
summit of your glory." 

" \\ (dl," rejoined the liUijicror, "this is })artly my own opinion. But, 
after all, am T certain that the French people Avill do me justice ? Will they 
not accuse nu> of having abandoned them 1:' History Avill decide. Instead 
of dreading, I invoke its decree. T have often asked myself whether T have 
done for the French people all that they could expect of me, for that people 
did nuich for me. Will they ever know all that I suffered during the nigiit 
which preceded my fmal decision ? 



1816, April.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 133 

" In that Tii^lit of anguish and uncertainty I had to choose between two 
great courses. The one was to endeavor to save France by violence, and 
the other to yield to the general impulse. The measure which I pursued 
was, I think, the most advisable. Friends and enemies, the good and the 
evil-disposed, Avere all against me, and I stood alone. I surrendered, ^iy 
decision, being once adopted, could not be revoked. I am not one who takes 
lialf measures, and besides, sovereignty is not to be thrown off and on like 
one's cloak. Tlie other course demanded extraordinary severity. It woidd 
have Ixien necessary to arraign great ci'iminals and to decree great punish- 
ments. Blood must have been shed, and then who can tell where we should 
lia\'e stoppfid ? But Avhat scenes of horror might not have been renewed ! 

"Jjy pursuing tliis line of conduct, should I not have drowned my mem- 
ory in the deluge of blood, crimes, and abominations of every kind \sith which 
the liljelists liave already overwhelmed me? Should I not thereby have 
s^eemed to justify all tliat tliey have been pleased to invent ? Posterity and 
liistory would have viewed me as a second Xero or Tiberius. If, after all, I 
could have saved France at such a price, I had energy sufficient to carry me 
tJirough every difficulty. But is it certain that I should have succeeded? 
All our dangers did not come from Asithout. The worst existed in our in- 
ternal discord. Did we not see an insensate crowd eager to dispute aTjout 
the shade before we had secured the triumph of the color ? How would it 
have been possible to persuade them that I was not laboring for myself alone, 
for my own pjersonal adsantage ? How could I con\'ince tJiem of my disin- 
terestedness, or prove that all my efforts were directed to save the country ? 
To whom could I point out the dangers and miseries from A\'hich I sought to res- 
cue the French people ? They were evident to me, but the vulgar mass will 
ever remain in ignorance of them until they are crushed beneath their weight. 

"What answer could be given to tliose who exclaimed, 'Behold the des- 
pot I the tyrant! again violating the oaths which he took but yesterday?' 
And who knows whetlier, amid this tumult, this inextricable complication of 
difficulties, I might not have perished by the hands of a Frenchman in the 
civil conflict ? Tlum, how would France have appeared in the eyes of a uni- 
verse, in the estimation of future generations? The glory of France is to 
identify herself Avith me. I could not have achieved so many great deeds for 
her honor and glory witliout tiie nation and in despite of the nation. I re- 
peat, history will decide." 

After these remarks, he reverted to the plans and details of the campaign 
of Waterloo, dwelling with pleasure upon its glorious commencement, and 
with agony upon the terrible disaster in which it terminated. 

" Nevertheless," said he, in conclusion, " I should have considered the state 
of affairs by no means desperate had I obtained the aid which I had a right 
to expect. Our only resources were in the Chambers. I hastened to Paris 
to convince them of this. But they immediately rose against me, under the 
pretense that I was come to dissolve them. What absurdity ! From tJiat 
moment all was lost. It would, perhaps, be unjust to condemn the majority 
<)i' the Chambers ; but such is the imivitable tendency of these numerous 



134 NAl'OLEON AT ST. HELENA. [CHAI'. IX. 

bodies,,tlKit tliov perish without luiity, Cliiets arc as noocssarv to thoin as 
to arnucs. In armies, duet's! arc appointed, Lut great talents and eminent cjen- 
ius seize liold of assemblies and irovern them. AVe were Avantinjr, howev- 
er, in all this. Therefore, in despite of the good spirit which might have an- 
imated the majority, the whole body found itself in an instant in confusion, 
vertigo, and tunmlt. Pcrtidy and corruption stationed themselves at the 
doors of the Legislative Body, while incapacity, disorder, and perversity pre- 
vailed in its bosom. Thus France became the prey of forei^'ners. 

" For a moment I entertained the idea of resistance. I was on tlic point 
of declaring myself in permanence at the Tuileries in the midst of the minis- 
ters and tlic Council of State ; to call around me the six thousand men of the 
Chiard whom I had at Paris, augmenting them with the best-disposed portion 
of the National Guard, who were very numerous, and with all the federate 
troops of the iaubourgs ; of adjourning tlie IjCgislativc l>ody to Tours or to 
Blois ; of reorganizing before the walls of Paris the wrecks of the army, and 
thus to work alone, as dictator, for the safety of the country. 

"But would the IjCgislative Body have obeyed? T might have entbrced 
obedience, it is true, but then what scandal, and -what new complication ! 
Would the people have made connnon cause with me ? The army e\'en, 
woidd it have obeyed me with constancy? In the crises continually arising, 
might it not separate from me ? flight not plans have been formed to my 
prejudice? AA^ould it not have been a })laiisible pretext that so many eiibrts 
and dangers had but nie for their objt>ct ? "^rhc facilities which every one had 
found the preceding year in gaining favor with the Bourbons, might they not 
have become decisive inducements ? 

" Yes, I hesitated long ; Aveighed the for and the at^ahhsf, and at last con- 
cluded tliat I could not irsist the coalition Avithout and the Ivoyalists Avithin, 
the numerous parties Avhich the A^iolence done the Legislative Body avouIiI have 
created, that portion of the multitude Avhich must be diiA'cn by force, and, in 
fine, that moral condemnation Avhich imjnites to you, Avhen you are unfortu- 
nate, all the evils Avhich ensue. There remained for me absolutely, then, but 
abdication. All Avas lost. I forcsaAV this ; I foretold it ; but I had no other 
alternative. 

" The Allies had ahvays pursued against us tlie same system. They be- 
gan it at Prague, contimuHl it at Frankfort, at Chatillon, at Paris, at Fon- 
taincbleau. They conducted themselves Avith much judgment. The French 
might have been their dupes in 1814, but posterity Avill fmd it ditticult to 
conceive hoAv they coidd liaAC been deceived in ISlo. History Avill forcATr 
condemn those Avho sutVered tliemselves to be misled. 1 told them their fate 
when I Avas departing to join the army. 

" ' Po not resemble,' said I, ' the Greeks of the LoAvcr Fmpire, Avho amused 
themselves in debating Avhile the battering-ram Avas leveling the AA'alls of their 
city.' Again I said to them, Avhcn they forced me to abdicate, ' 'I'lie enemy 
wish to separate me from the army. Wlien they shall haA-e succeeded, they 
will separate the army from you. You Avill then be but a helpless tlock, the 
prey of ferocious beasts.'" 



181G, April.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 135 

"Do you think," one of Lis companions inquired, "that, Avith the concur- 
rence of the Legislative ]3ody, you could have saved France ?" 

"I would confidently," he promptly replied, "have undertaken to do so, 
and would have answered for success. In less than a fortnight, that is to 
say, before the masses of the enemy would have heen able to present them- 
selves before Paris, I should have completed the fortifications. I would have 
collected under the walls, from the wreck of the army, eighty thousand good 
troops, and three hundred pieces of horse artillery. After a few days' firing, 
the National Guard, tlie federal troops, and the inhabitants of Paris, would 
have sufficed to defend the intrenchments. There would then have remained 
under my hand eighty thousand disposable troops. It is well known how 
advantageously I was capable of employing this force. The remembrance 
of 1814 was still fresh. CJiampaubert, Montmirail, Craone, Montereau, were 
still present in the imagination of our enemies. The same places would have 
revived the recollection of tlie prodigies of the preceding year. They then 
Burnamed me the one hundred thousand men. The rapidity, the force of 
our blows, gave rise to this name. The conduct of the French troops was 
most admirable. Never did a handful of brave men accomplish such marvels. 
If their heroic exploits have never been well known to the public, in conse- 
quence of our disasters, they have, at least, been duly appreciated by our en- 
emies, who counted our attacks by our victories. We were truly the £ri- 
airees of fable. 

" Paris would, in a few days, have become impregnable. The appeal to 
the nation, the magnitude of the danger, the excitement of the public mind, 
the grandeur of the spectacle, would have drawn multitudes from all parts to 
the capital. I should undoubtedly have assembled more than four hundred 
thousand men, and I think that the allied force did not exceed five hundred 
thousand. Thus the affair would have been brought to a single combat, 
which would have been as perilous to the enemy as to us. The enemy would 
have hesitated, and the confidence of the multitude would have been restored 
to me. 

" Meanwhile, I should have surrounded myself with a national senate or 
junta, selected from among the members of the Legislative Body — men distin- 
guished by national names and worthy of general confidence. I should thus 
have fortified my military dictatorship witli all the force of civil opinion. I 
should have had my tribune, which would have promulgated the talisman of 
my principles through Europe. The sovereigns would have trembled to be- 
hold the contagion spread among their subjects. Terrified, they must have 
treated witli me, or have been vanquished." 

" J5ut, sire!" one exclaimed, "why did you not attempt what would in- 
fallibly have succeeded ? Why arc Ave here ?" 

"Now," resumed the Emperor, "you are blaming and condemning me; 
but if you took a view of the contrary chances, you Avould soon change your 
language. Besides, you forget that avc reasoned on the hypothesis that the 
Legislative Body had joined me, and you know the course it adopted. I had 
the power to dissolve it, it is true. France and Europe perhaps blame, and 



136 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [CuAP. IX. 

posterity will doubtless blame, my weakness in not breaking up the Legisla- 
tive Body after its insurrection. I should have devoted myself, it will be 
said, to the destinies of a people who had done all for me ; but by dissolving 
the Assembly, I could, at the most, but have obtained a capitulation from the 
enemy. In that case, I again repeat, blood must have been shed, and I must 
have shown myself a tyrant. I had, however, arranged a plan on the night 
of the 20th, and on the morning of the 21st measures of the most rigid se- 
verity were to have been adopted. But, ere the return of day, the dictates of 
humanity and prudence warned me that such a course was not to be thought 
of; that I should fail in my enterprise, and that every one was merely seek- 
ing blindly to accommodate himself to circumstances. But I must not be- 
gin again. I have already said too much on a subject Avhich always revives 
painful recollections. I repeat once more that history Avill decide."' Thus 
saying, the Emperor retired to his chamber. 

Aj)/'il 5-8. Under this date Las Casas makes the following record. " Du- 
ring these four days the Emperor invariably rode out on horseback about 
six or"" seven In the morning, accompanied only by nie and my son. I am 
enabled to affirm that I never saw Napoleon swayed either by passion or 
prejudice ; that is to say, I never knew him to pronounce judgment on men 
and things that was not dictated by reason. r^EVen when lie displays what 
may perhaps be called anger, it is merely the effect of transitory sensation, 
and never influences his actions ; but I can truly say that during the eight- 
een months in which I have had the opportunity of observing his character, 
[ never knew him to act in contradiction to reason. ^^y^ 

"Another fact which has come to my kno'wledge is, that, either from na- 
ture, calculation, or the habit of preserving dignity, lie for the most part re- 
presses and conceals the painful sensations which he experiences, and still 
more, peiiiaps, the kind emotions of his heart. I have frequently observed 
him repressing feelings of sensibility as if he thought tliey compromised his 
character. The following cJiaractcristic trait so perfectly coiTesponds with 
the object of this journal, namely, that of showing t]ie man as he really is, 
and seizing nature in the fact, that I can not refrain from mentioning it. 

" For some days past Napoleon seemed to have something deeply at heart. 
A domestic circumstance had pained him exceedingly. He was deeply 
wounded. For three days during Avliich we ^very morning rode in the park, 
he on each occasion alluded to tlie subject with much feeling. At one time 
the following observations escaped him : 

" 'I know well that I am fallen; but to be reminded of this by one of 
my friends ! Ah ! ' 

" These words," says Las Casas, "his gesture, his tone, pierced my heart. 
I was ready to throw myself at his feet and to embrace his knees." 

" 'I know,' he continued, 'that man is exacting and sensitive, and fre- 
quently unreasonable. Thus, when I am distrustful of myself, I ask, should 
I have been treated so at the Tuileries ? This is my sure test.' 

" He then," says Las Casas, " spoke of himself, of us, of our reciprocal 
relations, of our situation in the island, and of the influence which our indi- 



1816, April.] RESIDExNCE AT LONGWOOD. I37 

vidual circumstances might enable us to exercise. His reflections were nu- 
merous, forcible, and just. In the emotion with which this conversation in- 
spired me, I exclaimed, 

" ' Sire, permit me to take this affair upon myself. It certainly never 
could have been viewed in this light. If the matter were explained, I am 
sure that it would excite deep sorrow and repentance. I only ask permis- 
sion to say a single word." 

"No, sir,' the Emperor replied, with dignity, ' I forbid it. I have open- 
ed my heart to you. Nature has had her course. I shall think of it no 
more, and you must seem never to have known it.' " 

April 9. A ship arrived from England bringing papers to the 21st of 
January. These journals announced the continued agitation of France and 
of all Europe. Upon hearing the recital read of the deluge of evils which 
afflicted all the departments of France, the Emperor rose in nervous agita- 
tion from his sofa, and exclaimed with fervor, 

"Ah! what a misfortune that I was not able to proceed to America! 
From the other hemisphere I might have protected France against reaction. 
The fear of my reappearance would have held in check their violence and 
their folly. My name would have sufficed to bridle their excess and to fill 
them with terror." 

In earnest utterance, he continued for some time upon the same subject, 
and said in conclusion, 

" The counter revolution, even had it been allowed to proceed, would in- 
evitably have been lost in the grand revolution. The atmosphere of modern 
ideas is sufficient to stifle the old feudalists, for henceforth nothing can de- 
stroy or efface the grand principles of our revolution. These great and ex- 
cellent truths can never cease to exist, so much have we blended them with 
our fame, our monuments, our prodigies. We have washed away their first 
stains in floods of glory, and henceforth they will be immortal. Created in 
the French Tribune, cemented by the blood of battles, adorned with the lau- 
rels of victory, saluted with the acclamations of the people, sanctioned by the 
treaties, the alliances of sovereigns, made familiar to the ears as well as to 
the mouths of kings, they can never again retrograde. 

" They live in Great Britain, they illuminate America, they are national- 
ized in France. Behold the tripod from whence issues the light of the world ! 
They will yet triumph. They will be the faith, the religion, the morality 
of all people ; and this memorable era, whatever may be advanced to the 
contrary, will be inseparably connected with my name.^ 

" For, after all, I kindled the torch and consecrated the principle, and now 
persecution renders me, of those principles, the messiah. Friends and ene- 
mies, all must acknowledge tliat I am, of them, the chief soldier, the grand 
representative. Thus, when I am in my grave, I shall still be, for the people, 
the polar star of their rights. My name will be the war-cry of their efforts, 
the signet of their hopes." 

April 12. Napoleon, speaking of the fickleness of the French people, said, 

" This levity, this inconsistency, has descended to us from antiquity. We 



138 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. IX. 



still remain Gauls, and our character will never be complete until we learn to 
substitute principles for turbulence, pride for vanity, and, above all, the love 
of institutions for the love of places. But the excuse may perhaps be found 
in the nature of things and in the power of circumstances. Democracy raises jf 
up sovereignty, aristocracy preserves it. Mine had neither taken deep enough 
root nor sufficient spirit. At the moment of the crisis, it was still connected 
with the democracy. It mingled with the multitude, and yielded to the im- 
pulse of the moment, instead of becoming an anchor of safety against the tem- 
pest, and a light to guide them in their darkness." 

Speaking of Talleyrand, the Emperor said, 

" M. de Talleyrand waited two days and nights at Vienna for full powers 
to treat for peace in my name ; but I should have been ashamed to liave thus 
prostituted my policy. And yet, perhaps, it has cost me my exile to St. He- 
lena, for I can not but allow that Talleyrand is a man of singular talent, and 
capable at all times of throwing great weight into the scale. He Avas always 
in a state of treason, but it was in participation with fortune. His circum- 
spection was extreme.^ He treated his friends as if they might, in future, be-] 
come his enemies, and he behaved to his enemies as if they might, some time [ 
or other, become his friends. Talleyrand had always been, in my opinion, , 
hostile to the Faubourg St. Germain. In the affair of the divorce, he was for 
the Empress Josephine. It was he who urged the war with Spain, though 




rOKTllAIT OF TALLE-V HAND. 



1816 April.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. I39 

in public he had the art to appear averse to it. In short, Talleyrand was 
the principal instrument and the active cause of the death of the Duke d'En- 
ghien. 

" Mademoiselle Eaucourt, a celebrated actress, described him with great 
truth. 'If you ask him a question,' said she, 'he is an iron chest, whence 
you can not extract a syllable ; but if you ask him nothing, you will soon be 
unable to stop his mouth ; he will become a regular gossip.' This was a 
foible which, at the outset, destroyed my confidence in Talleyrand. I had 
intrusted him with a very important affair, and, a few hours after, Josejjhine 
related it to me word for word. I instantly sent for the minister to inform 
him that I had just learned from the Empress a circumstance which I had 
told in confidence to himself alone. The story had already passed through 
four or five intermediate channels. The countenance of Talleyrand is so im- 
movable that nothing can ever be read in it. Lamies and Murat used jocu- 
larly to say of him, that if, while he was speaking to you, some one should 
come behind and give him a kick, his countenance would betray nothing. 

" M. de Talleyrand is mild and even endearing in his domestic habits. 
His servants, and the individuals in his employment, are attached and de- 
voted to him. With his intimates he speaks willingly and good-humoredly 
of his ecclesiastic profession, which he embraced by compulsion, constrained 
by his parents, though he was the eldest of many brothers. He one day ex- 
pressed dislike of a tune which was played in his hearing. He said he had 
a great horror of it ; it recalled to his recollection the time when he was 
obliged to practice church music and to sing at the desk. On another occa- 
sion, one of his intimate friends was telling a story during supper, while M. 
de Talleyrand was engaged in thought, and seemed inattentive to the con- 
versation. In the course of the story, the speaker happened to say, in a live- 
ly manner, of some one whom he had named, ' That fellow is a comical rogue ; 
he is a married priest.' Talleyrand, roused by these words, seized a spoon, 
plunged it hastily into the dish before him, and, with a threatening aspect, 

called out to him, ' Mr. , will you have some spinach ?' The person 

who was telling the story was confounded, and all the party burst into a fit 
of lauo-hter, M. de Tallevrand as well as the rest. 

"Fouche," said the Emperor, "was the Talleyrand of the clubs, and Tal- 
leyrand was the Fouche of the drawing-rooms. Intrigue was to Fouche a 
necessary of life. He intrigued at all times, in all places, in all ways, and 
with all persons. Nothing ever came to light but he was found to have had 
a hand in it. He made it his sole business to look out for something that 
be miffht be meddling; with. His mania was to wish to be concerned in ev- 
ery thing — always in every body's shoes. The remark which he made, or 
which is attributed to him in the affair of the Duke d'Enghien, is well known, 
and shows the character of the man. ' It is worse than a crime,' said he, ' it 
is a fault.' I was to blame for having employed him in 1815, when, indeed, 
he basely betrayed me. I was not ignorant of his disposition, but I also 
knew that the danger depended more on the circumstances than on the indi- 
vidual. If I had been victorious, Fouche would have been faithful. He 



140 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



rCHAP. IX. 



happen 



took irrcat care, it is true, to hold himself in readiness for Avliatever might 
I ouglit to have conquered." 
ipril 13. It was a pleasant morning, and the Kniperor breakfasted in the 
garden, Avith all his companions around him. One of the company read the 
papers which had recently arrived. 

" On the 18th A'endemiaire,"* said the Kmperor, '' the inhabitants of I'aris 
were completely disgusted with the government, but the Avhole of the army, 
the great majority of the population of the departments, the lower class of 
citizens, and the peasantry remained attached to it. Thus the Revolution 
triumphed over this grand attack of the counter revolution, though it Avas 
onlv four or five years since the new principles had been promulgated. Most 
frightful and calamitous scenes had been witnessed, and a happier future was 
anticipated. 



. §& 



m 



ii,iii!|J;,;!ll.fe:; 



.C 




NAPOLEO.N RECEIVINO THE COMMAND PROM THE CONVENTION. 

*' But to-day what a difference ! The immense majority of the French 
hold in abhorrence the government which is imposed upon them by force, for 
it deprives them of their glory, their prosperity, their customs. It wounds 
their pride, their principles, their maxims. It places under the yoke of for- 
eigners that France whicli for twenty years had given laws to others. This 
government, hostile to every thing dear to the people, has no support in 
France. It is sustained only by the will and the power of foreigners. This 
government is extended over a people nearly all of whom have been born 
under the Revolution, and wdio cherish the principles which the government 
Avishes to destroy. AVho can foresee the end of all this ? Who can pre- 
dict the result? In 1814, the entire nation coidd have been cai'ried over 
to the king. This is now impossible ; then it Avas a peaceable succession. 

* October 5, 1795, when Napoleon defeated the attack of the Sections on the Convention. 



1816, April] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 141 

To-day it is a conquest terrible, outrageous. If the government should un- 
dertake to form a national army, it would immediately stand in fear of that 
army. 

"A soldier in his tiresome march, in the weary monotony of his barracks, 
has need to speak of war ; but he can not speak of Fontenay or Prague, 
which he did not witness. He must speak of the victories of Marengo, Aus- 
terlitz, and Jena — -of him who gained them — in short, of me, whose fame fills 
every mouth and lives in all imaginations. Such a situation is unexampled 
in history. On whichever side it is viewed, nothing but misfortunes present 
themselves. What will be the result of this ? Two classes of people upon 
the same soil, exasperated, irreconcilable, will be incessantly contending, and 
will finally, perhaps, exterminate each other. Tlie same fury will soon spread 
through Europe. The whole Continent will be composed of but two hostile 
parties. It will be no longer divided by nations and territories, but by party 
colors and opinions. Who can foresee the crisis, the duration, the details of 
so many storms ? The event can not be doubtful. The present enlightened 
age will not retrograde in knowledge. How unfortunate was my fall! I 
had imprisoned the winds ; hostile bayonets have released them. I could 
have proceeded tranquilly in the universal regeneration ; it can henceforth 
be effected only amid tempests. My object was to amalgamate ; others, per- 
haps, will extirpate." , 

Aj^ril 15. It was a dark* and gloomy day, and the rain fell in torrents. 
"After dinner, the Emperor," says Las Casas, "described to us the con- 
tents of some French papers which he had by him, and which, he said, gave 
an account of the shipwreck of La Perouse, his different adventures, his 
death, and which also contained his journal. The narrative consisted of the 
most curious, striking, and romantic details, and interested us exceedingly. 
The Emperor observed liow highly our curiosity was excited, and then burst 
into a fit of laughter. This story was nothing but an impromptu of his own, 
which he said he had invented merely to show us the progress he had made 
in Eno-lish." 

Ajyril 16. The rain still continued, and a ship arrived at the island brino-- 
ing the new governor. Sir Hudson Lowe. Without any regard to decorum, 
this ill-bred man sent an impertinent message to Longwood that he should 
call the next morning at nine o'clock to see General Bonaparte. 

"Let him come as soon as he pleases," said the Emperor to Count Mon- 
tholon ; "I will receive him only Avlien he asks to be received in a proper 
manner." 

A little before nine, in a driving storm of wind and rain, Sir Hudson Lowe, 
accompanied by Sir George Cockburn and a numerous staff, rode up to the 
door of Longwood, and demanded admission to see his prisoner. He was in- 
formed that the Emperor was indisposed, and could not receive any visitors 
that morning. The insolent official was quite confounded by this unantici- 
pated repulse, and after angrily walking for a few moments up and down be- 
fore the windows of the drawing-room, demanded at what hour on the follow- 
mg day he could be introduced. Two o'clock was appointed for the inter- 



142 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. IX. 

view. The o'ovovnov ntraiii mounted his horse in hi^-h dudG:eon, and, Avitli his 
retinue, (Hsa})peared in the vain and the nn'st. 

April 17. About the initUUe of the day the Emperor sent for Las Casas, 
to eonverse with him eontidentially upon some of their family matters. This 
frank and private eon\'er.sation atlbrds a valuable develo})nient of Napoleon's 
real eliaraeter. 

"There oeeasionally arose among us," says Las Casas, "transient misun- 
derstandings and disputes, which gave much pain to the Emperor. lie ad- 
verted to this topic, lie analyzed oiu" sitiaatiou with las ordinary perspicuity. 
He appreciated the misery and the uneasiness of our exile, and pointed out the 
best alleviations. He said that we ought to make mutual sacrihces and over- 
look many grievances ; that man can oidy enjoy life by controlling the char- 
acter given to him by nature, or by creating to himself a new one hy education, 
and learning to modify it according to the obstacles which he may encounter.*' 

"You should endeavor to form here hut one family,'"' said Napoleon. " You 
have followed me only with the view of assuaging my sorrow. Ought not 
this feeling to subdue every other consideration ? If sympathy alone is not 
sufficiently powerful, let reason be your guide. You should learn to calcu- 
late your sorrows, your sacrilices, and your enjoyments, in order to arrive at 
a result, just as we make additions or subtractions in every kind of calcula- 
tion. All tiie circumstances of our lives should be submitted to this rule. 
We nuist learn to conquer ill tempei\ It is natural enough that little mis- « 
understandings should arise among you, but they should be followed by ex- 
planation, and not succeeded by ill humor. The former will pi'oduce a result ; 
the latter will only render the affair more complicated. Reason and logical 
inference should, in this world, be our constant guides." 

"He then proceeded to show," says Las Casas, " how he had sometimes 
acted up to these principles and sometimes departed from them. He added 
that we ought to learn to forgive, and to avoid that hostility and acrimony 
whii'h nmst be oftensive to our neighbors and prejudicial to our own happi- 
ness ; that Ave ought to make allowance for human frailties, and conform our- 
selves to them rather than oppose them." 

" What would have become of mc," said the Emperor, "■'had! not follow- 
ed these maxims ? It has often been said that I have been too good-natured, 
and not sutliciently cautious ; but it would have been much Avorse for me 
had my disposition been the reverse of what it is. I have been twice betray- 
ed, it is true, and I may be betrayed a third time ; but still, it was my knowl- 
edge of human character, and the spirit of reasonable indulgence which I had 
adopted, that enabU'd me to govern France, and which still, perhaps, render 
me the fittest person to rule that nation, under existing circumstances. On 
my departure from Eontainebleau, did I not say to all who requested me to 
point out the line of conduct they should pursue, ' Go to the king ; serve 
liim f I wished to grant them lawful authority for doing Avhat many Avould 
not have hesitated "to do of their own accord. I did not Avish to have some 
ruin themselves by persisting in tidelity to me, and, aboA'e all, I did not 
Avish to have any one to censure on my return." 



1816, April. 1 RESIDENCE AT LONG WOOD. 143 

"Here," says Las Casas, "I ventured, contrary to my constant custom, 
to call the Emperor in some measure to account. ' How, sire,' I exclaimed, 
' had your majesty any idea of returning when you left FontaineLleau ?' " 

"Yes, certainly," the Emperor replied, "and by the simplest reasoning. 
If the Bourbons, said I, intend to commence a fifth dynasty, I have nothing 
more to do here — I have acted my part ; but if they should obstinately at- 
tempt to recontinue the third, I shall soon appear again. It may be said that 
the Bourbons had then my memory and my conduct at their disposal, if they 
had been contented to be the magistrates of a great nation : had they con- 
sented to this, I should have been regarded by the mass of mankind as an 
upstart, a tyrant, a firebrand, and a scourge. How much good sense and 
calm reflection would have been necessary to appreciate my real character, 
and render me justice ! 

" But they persisted in returning feudal lords ; they preferred to be but 
the odious chiefs of a party hateful to the whole nation. But the men by 
whom the Bourbons were surrounded, the erroneous line of conduct they pur- 
sued, rendered my return desirable. The Bourbons themselves restored my 
popularity and decreed my return. But for them, my political mission would 
have been consummated, and I should have ended my days on the island of 
Elba ; and, without any doubt, this would have been better both for them 
and for me, for I did not return for the sake of ascending the throne, but to 
pay a great debt. Few will comprehend it, but no matter. I undertook a 
strange charge, but it was a duty I owed the French people. Their cries 
reached me ; how could I remain insensible ? 

" My situation upon the island of Elba was, on the whole, sufficiently envi- 
able, sufficiently agreeable. I should soon have created for myself a new sort 
of sovereignty. All that was most distingniished in Europe was about to 
pass in review before me. I should have presented a spectacle unknown in 
history — that of a monarch descended from his throne beholding the civilized 
world defile eagerly before him. It may be said, it is true, that the Allies 
would have removed me from my island, and I admit that this circumstance 
hastened my return ; but if the Bourbons had governed France wisely, if the 
French people had been contented, my influence would have been at an end ; 
1 should thenceforth have belonged only to history, and tliey would not have 
thought, at Vienna, of displacing me. It Avas the agitation, created and. 
maintained in France by the Bourbons and by those who surrounded them, 
which led them to think of my removal." 

While the Emperor was tlius talking the hour of two arrived, and the 
grand marshal entered to announce the arrival of the governor, who was ac- 
companied by the admiral, and escorted by the whole of his staff. The gov- 
ernor and his suite were assembled in the ante-chamber. The Emperor was 
to grant them an audience in his drawing-room.* The valet de chambre, No- 
varrez, who stood at the door to announce the persons introduced, was de- 
voted to the P]mperor with deathless fervor. As the Emperor entered the 
drawing-room, the valet de chambre summoned the governor, and he was ad- 

* See the plan of Longwood. 



144 



NAPOLEON AT ST HELENA. 



fClIAP. IX. 




THE EMTEROK S RESIDENCE AT ELBA. 



mittecT ; the admiral followed close behind, intending to present the governor. 
But the valet, not having heard the admirars name called, shut the door in 
liis face, and refused to admit him. Sir George CockLurn, regarding this as 
fin insult, retired in a towering passion. The governor's staff was then an- 
nounced. In about a quarter of an hour tlie Emperor took lea-\'e of liis vis- 
itors. The whole atlair appears to have vexed both the govci'nor and the 
adiiural exceedingly. The Emperor was not at all disposed to submit to the 
insolent manners of these vulgar men. He effectually opposed to their im- 
pertinence the shield of his lofty character and his renown. 

boon after the presentation the Emperor joined his friends in the garden. 
Speaking of Sir Hudson Lowe, he said, 

" Tliat man is malevolent. While looking at me, his eye was like that 
of a hyena taken in a trap. Put no confidence in him. We complain of 
the admiral ; we shall perhaps regret ]iim, for, in tnith, lie has the heart of 
a soldier, Avhile tlie general only Avears the dress. His appearance and ex- 
pression recall to my mind those of the constables of Venice. Who knows? 
perhaps he will be my executioner. Let us not, however, be hasty in form- 
ing our judgment. His disposition may, however, after all, atone for his un- 
favorable appearance." 



1816, April.] RESIDENCE AT LONG WOOD. 145 

The Emperor knew nothing of the repulse which the haughty admiral had 
received. When informed of it he was exceedingly diverted, and rubbing 
his hands with glee, he said, 

"Ah! my good Novarrez, you have done a clever thing for once in your 
life. He had heard me say that I would not see the admiral again, and he 
thought that he was bound to shut the door in his face. But this honest 
Swiss may perhaps carry the joke too far. If I were unfortunately to say 
we must get rid of the governor, he would be for assassinating him before 
my eyes. 

" But, after all," he added, in a more serious tone, " it was entirely the gov- 
ernor's fault. He should have requested that the admiral might be admitted, 
particularly as he had. informed me that he could be presented only by him. 
And why did he not request the admiral's admission when he presented his 
officers to me? He is solely to blame. But the admiral has lost nothing 
by the mistake. I should, without hesitation, have apostrophized him in the 
presence of his countrymen. I should have told him that, by the sentiment, 
attached to the honorable uniform which we had both worn for forty years, 
I accused him of having, in the eyes of the world, degraded his government, 
his nation, his sovereign, in failing, without necessity and without discretion, 
in respect to one of the oldest soldiers in Europe. I should have reproach- 
ed him with having landed me at St. Helena just as he would have landed 
a convict at Botany Bay. I should have assured him that a man of true 
honor would have shown me more respect on my rock than if I were still 
on my throne and surround.ed by my armies." 

Las Casas, in the following summary, expresses his views of the charac- 
ter and conduct of Sir George Cockburn. 

"As I have thus alluded to the admiral, and as he is now about to quit 
us, I will, once for all, sum up the insults with which we have to reproach 
him with as much impartiality as our situation and the state of our feelings 
will admit. 

"We can not pardon the affected familiarity with which he treated us, 
though our conduct afforded but little' encouragement to it ; still less can 
we forgive him for having endeavored to extend this familiarity to the Em- 
peror. We can never forget the haughty and self-complacent air with which 
he addressed Napoleon by the title of general. The Emperor, it is true, has 
immortalized that title ; but the tone and intention with which it was ap- 
plied were sufficiently insulting. 

"On our anival at St. Helena, he lodged the Emperor in a little room a 
few feet square, where he kept him for two months, though other residences 
could have been procured, and there was one which the admiral had himself 
fixed upon. He indirectly prohibited the Emperor from riding on horseback 
even in the grounds surrounding the Briers, and the individuals of the Em- 
peror's suite were loaded with embarrassments and humiliations when they 
came to pay their daily visits to him in his little cell. 

" On our removal to Longwood, he stationed sentinels under the very win- 
dows of the Emperor ; and then, by an evasion whicli savored of the bitter- 

K 



146 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. IX. 

est irony, he alleged that this step had been taken only with a view to the 
generaVs own advantage and protection. He suffered no one to come near 
us without a note from him, and, having thus placed us in close confinement, 
he declared that these arrangements had been made only to secure the Em- 
peror against importunity, and that he (the admiral) was merely acting the 
part of grand marshal. He gave a ball, and sent a written invitation to 
General Bonaparte in the same manner as he did to every individual in the 
suite. He replied with the most unbecoming jeers to the notes of t^ie grand 
marshal, who used the title of Emperor, saying that he knew no E^nperor 
at the island of St. Helena, nor any such sovereign in Europe or elsewhere 
who was not in his own dominions. He refused to forward a letter from the 
fi^mperor to the Prince Regent unless it were delivered to him open, or he 
were permitted to read it. He even stifled the sentiments and expressions 
of respect which other individuals manifested to Napoleon. We were as- 
sured that he had put persons of inferior situations under arrest merely for 
having used the title of Emj^eror^ or other similar expressions, which, how- 
ever, were frequently employed by the 53d regiment, doubtless, as the Em- 
peror observed, through an irresistible sentiment with which these brave men 
were inspired. 

" From his own personal caprice he had limited the extent of our rides 
and Avalks. He had, moreover, neglected the most ordinary forms of deco- 
rum, always fixing upon unsuitable hours for liis own visits, and directing 
strangers who arrived at the island to select the same unseasonable periods 
for visiting the Emperor. This was no doubt done with the view of pre- 
venting people from gaining access to Napoleon, Avho constantly refused to 
be seen on these occasions. 

"However, if we were required to pronounce an impartial opinion on him, 
making allowance for the irritability of our own feelings, and the delicacy of 
his situation, we should not hesitate to declare that our grievances rested in 
forms rather than facts. We should say with the Emperor, who had, after 
all, a natural predilection for him, that Admiral Cockburn is far from being 
an ill-disposed man ; that he is even susceptible of generous and delicate sen- 
timents ; but that he is capricious, irascible, vain, and overbearing ; that he 
is a man who is accustomed to authority, and who exercises it ungraciously, 
fi-equently substituting energy for dignity. To express in a few words the 
nature of our relations with respect to him, we should say that, as a jailer^ 
he was mild, humane, and generous, and that we have reason to be grateful, 
to him ; but that, as a liost^ he was generally impolite, often something 
worse, and that, in this character, we have cause to be displeased with him." 



1816, April.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. X47 



CHAPTER X. 

1816, April. Continued. 

Convention between the Allied Powers — Declaration demanded of the Inmates of Longwood — Fare- 
well Visit of Governor Wilks — Interesting Conversation on the Arts — Message to the Prince 
Regent — Portfolio lost at Waterloo — Cost of the Emperor's Toilet — Expenses in different Capi- 
,tals — The Furnishing of the imperial Palaces — The Emperor's Mode of examining Accounts. 

April 18. Dr. O'Meara Ibrouglit some European journals to the Emperor. 
In the course of conversation, the name of Admiral Cockburn was mentioned. 

" I believe," said the Emperor, " that he was rather ill-treated the day he 
came up with the new governor. What does he say about it ?" 

Dr. O'Meara, kindly disposed to apologize for his countryman, replied, 
"The admiral conceived it as an insult offered to him, and certainly felt 
greatly offended at it. Some explanation has, however, been given by Gen- 
eral Montholon upon the subject." 

" I shall never see him with pleasure," added the Emperor. " But he did 
not announce himself as being desirous of seeing me." 

"He wished," said Dr. O'Meara, "to introduce officially to you the new 
governor, and thought, as he was to act in that capacity, it was not neces- 
sary to be previously announced." 

"He should have sent me word," replied the Emperor, "by General 
Bertrand, that he wanted to see me. But he wished to embroil me with the 
new governor, and for that purpose persuaded him to come up here at nine 
o'clock in the morning, though he well knew that I never had received any 
person, and never would at that hour. It is a pity that a man who really 
has talent, for I believe him to be a very good officer in his own service, 
should have behaved in the manner he has done to me. It shows the great- 
est want of generosity to insult the unfortunate. To insult those who are 
-ifl-J0iyL^i)^6r, andwho, consequently, can not make any opposition, is a 
55^?i^--^ig^ ^^ ^^ ignoble mind." 

" I am confident," said Dr. O'Meara, " that the whole was a mistake, and 
that the admiral had not the smallest intention of embroiling your majesty 
with the governor." 

" I, in my misfortunes," the Emperor resumed, " sought an asylum. In- 
stead of that, I have found contempt, ill treatment, and insult. Shortly after 
I came on board his ship, as I did not wish to sit at the table two or three 
hours guzzling down wine to intoxicate myself, I rose from the table and 
walked out upon the deck. While I was going out, he said, in a contempt- 
uous manner, ' I believe the general has never read Lord Chesterfield,' mean- 
ing that I was deficient in politeness, and did not know how to conduct my- 
self at table." 

Dr. O'Meara, still apologizing for the rudeness of the admiral in not ap- 
plying for an audience, said, " The English, and, above all, naval officers. 



148 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. X. 

are not in tlie habit of going through many forms. The omission of the 
customary etiquette was quite unintentional on the part of the admiral." 

"But if," Napoleon replied, "Sir George had wished to see Lord St. Vin- 
cent or Lord Keith, would he not have sent beforehand and asked at what 
hour it might be convenient to see him ? And should not I be treated with 
at least as much respect as either of them ? Putting out of the question that 
I have been a crowned head, I think," said he, with a smile, "that the ac- 
tions which I have performed are at least as well known as any thing they 
have done." 

Just at this moment Count Montholon came in with the following com- 
munication from Sir Hudson Lowe. It was a copy of instructions which 
the governor had received from Lord Bathurst relative to the inmates of 
Longwood : 

"Downing Street, January 10th, 1816. 
" It is my duty to inform you that it is the pleasure of his Hoyal Highness 
the Prince Regent, that on your amval at St. Helena you should commu- 
nicate to all the persons forming the suite of Napoleon Bonaparte, including 
his domestic servants, that they are at liberty immediately to quit the island 
and return to Europe ; adding that none will be permitted to remain at St. 
Helena except such as declare in writing, to be deposited in your hands, 
that it is their desire to remain on the island, and to submit to such restric- 
tions as it may be necessary to impose upon Napoleon Bonaparte personally. 

" (Signed), Bathurst." 

Napoleon read this communication, and, after a short conference "svith his 
friends, calmly dictated to Count ]\Iontliolon the following paper, to be pre- 
sented to the household : 

" We, the undersigned, desiring to remain in the service of the Emperor 
Napoleon, consent, however frightful the abode in St. Helena may be, to re- 
main there, submitting ourselves to the restrictions, however unjust and ar- 
bitrary, which are imposed upon his majesty and the persons in his service." 

"There," said the Emperor; "let those who please sign that, but do not 
attempt to influence them either one way or the other." 

Though the members of the household were informed that those who de- 
cided not to leave w^ould be compelled to remain upon the island during the 
lifetime of General JBonaparte, every member of the household promptly 
signed the paper excepting General Bertrand. He had near relatives in 
Europe to whom he was tenderly attached. The idea of cruel exile from 
them for perhaps twenty or thirty years for a moment shook his resolution. 

"Bertrand is always the same," said the Emperor. "Although he con- 
stantly speaks of going, when the time comes he will not have the courage to 
leave. One must be able to love one's friends with all their faults. In him, 
as in the unfortunate Louis XVL, domestic virtues form the basis of his or- 
ganization. I do not, however, believe that he will ever leave me." 

There was something unutterably ignoble and cruel in this attempt to drive 
Napoleon's companions from him, and thus to leave Napoleon, friendless and 



1816, April.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. I49 

alone, to grope through the glooms of his captivity and death. History would 
be recreant to its task in neglecting to consign the authors of such inhumanity 
to contempt and infamy. 

April 18. The Convention of the allied sovereigns, relative to the captiv- 
ity of Napoleon, was presented to him. It was as follows : 

" Convention between Great Britain^ Austria^ Russia, and Prussia, signed ^ 
at Paris, August 20th, 1815. 

" Napoleon Bonaparte, heing in the power of the allied sovereigns, their 
majesties the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,, the 
Emperor of Austria, the Emperor of Russia, and the King of Prussia, have 
agreed, by virtue of the stipulations of the treaty of the 25th of March, 1815, 
on the measures best calculated to preclude the possibility of his making any 
attempt to disturb the peace of Europe. 

'•'■Art. I. Napoleon Bonaparte is considered by the powers who signed the 
treaty of the 25th of March last as their prisoner. 

'"'•Art. II. His safeguard is specially intrusted to the British government. 
The choice of the place, and the measures which may best insure the object 
of the present stipulation, are reserved to his Britannic majesty. 

^^ A7't. III. The imperial courts of Austria and Russia, and the royal 
court of Prussia, shall appoint commissioners to reside in the place which 
his Britannic majesty's government shall assign as the residence of Napoleon 
Bonaparte, and who, without being responsible for his security, shall assure 
themselves of his presence. 

^''Art. IV. His most Christian majesty (Louis XVIII.) is invited, in the 
name of the four courts above mentioned, also to send a French commis- 
sioner to the place of Napoleon Bonaparte's detention. 

Art. V. His majesty, the King of the United. Kingdom of Great Britain 
and Ireland, pledges himself to fulfill the engagements assigned to him. by 
the present Convention." 

The Emperor, after having heard this read, remarked, with perfect com- 
posure of spirit, 

" If the people, whose interests have been conquered at Waterloo, submit 
to the iron yoke imposed upon them by the Congress of Vienna, we shall not 
be worth the money which it wiU cost England to keep us here, and they 
will get rid of us ; but our captivity may still be prolonged for some years, 
perhaps three, four, or five. Otherwise, setting aside the fortuitous events 
which are beyond the reach of human foresight, I see, my friends, but two 
chances, very uncertain, for our liberation from this place ; first, that the 
sovereigns may stand in need of me to put down rebellion among their sub- 
jects ; and, secondly, that the uprising people may demand my aid in their 
conflict with the kings ; for, in this immense strife of the present against the 
past, I am the natural arbitrator and mediator. I have always aspired to be 
the supreme judge in this cause. All my administration at home, all my di- 
plomacy abroad, tended to this great end. The issue might have been brought 
about more easily and promptly, but fate has ordained otherwise. 



150 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. X. 

" Finally, there is a last chance, which is, perhaps, the most probable of 
all. I maj be wanted to check the power of the Russians. In less than 
ten years all Europe may perhaps be overrun with Cossacks, or all under 
republican government. Such are the statesmen who have brought about 
my overthrow. At Waterloo I ought to have been victorious. The chances 
were one hundred to one in my favor ; but Ney, the bravest of the brave, at 
the head of forty-two thousand men, suffered himself to be delayed a whole 
day by some thousands of Nassau troops.* Had it not been for this inex- 
plicable inactivity, the Englisli army would have been taken fiagrante delicto, 
and annihilated without striking a blow. Grouchy, with forty thousand men, 
suflfered Bulow and Blucher to escape from him ; and, finally, a heavy fall of 
rain had made the ground so soft, that it was impossible to commence the 
attack at daybreak. Had I been able to commence early, WeUington's army 
would have been trodden down in the defiles of the forest, before the Prus- 
sians could have had time to arrive. It was lost Avithout resource. The 
defeat of Wellington's army would have been peace, the repose of Europe, 
the recognition of the interests of the masses and of the democracy." 

After a few moments of absorption in intense thought, the Emperor added, 
*' It is difficult to account for the style of this document — for the malignant 
spirit which pervades it. 

'"'' Francis ! he is religious, and I am his son. 

'"'■Alexander ! we are friends. We once loved each other. 

" The King of Prussia ! I have undoubtedly done him much injury, but 
I could have injured him more. And is there no glory, no tnie happiness in 
ennobling one's self by magnanimity ? 

"As to England, it is to the animosity of her ministers that I am indebt- 
ed for all this treatment. But still, may it not be that the Prince Regent 
will see the necessity, of interfering, under penalty of being considered sense- 
less, or the protector of vulgar malignity ?" 

Then turning to Count Montholon, he said, " Send no answer. Do not 
acknowledge the receipt of the communication. There is time enough to do 
that. I shall probably reply to it by a protest, Avliich I shaU send to Vien- 
na and Petersburg at the same time as to London." 

April 19. For many days the Aveather had been disagreeable in the ex- 
treme. The Emperor said to Dr. O'Meara, " In this wi'etched island there 
is neither sun nor moon to be seen for the greater part of the year. Constant 
rain and fog." 

Allusion was made to some absurd falsehoods published in the ministerial 
papers respecting Napoleon. 

"Is it possible," said he, "that the English can be so foolishly credulous 
as to believe all the stuff they publish against me ?" 

April 20. Colonel Wilks, the former governor of the island, who was now 
about returning to England, requested permission to take leave of the Em- 
peror before his departure from St. Helena. He had been formerly diplomatic 

* The Emperor, Count Montholon says, was not aware, at that time, of the cause of Ney's forced 
inaction at Quatre Bras. 



1816, April.] RESIDENCE AT LONG WOOD. 151 

agent of the East India Company, and was a man of extensive information 
and distinguished talents. He had attained celebrity, as a soldier, author, 
diplomatist, and chemist. The exiles, however, had seen but little of him, 
as the gout had confined him to his bed most of the time since their arrival. 
His daughter was as remarkable for the grace and the beauty of her person 
as for her rich intellectual accomplishments.^ She spoke French with Parisiaii 
fluency and purity, and served as an interpreter for her father in his inter- 
course with the French gentlemeuo 

The Emperor with great cordiality received the father and daughter, and 
expressed his regret at their departure. The interview continued for more 
than two hours, and the conversation was lively and varied. Speaking of 
the English dominion in India, the Emperor said, 

" You lost America by enfranchisement. You will lose India by inva- 
sion. The first loss was perfectly natural. As children advance in years, 
they break their parental bonds ; but for the Hindoos, they are not advanc- 
ing at all ; they still remain children. The catastrophe can only proceed from 
without. You are not aware of the dangers with which you were threatened 
by my arms or my negotiations. As for my Continental system, you per- 
haps laughed at it." 

"Sire," replied Governor Wilks, "we affected to do so, but all men of 
judgment felt the full force of it. " 

" Well," continued the Emperor, " I stood alone in my opinion on the Con- 
tinent, and I was forced, for the moment, to employ violence every where. 
At length my plan began to be understood. The tree already bears its fruit. 
I made the beginning ; time will do the rest. Had I not fallen, I should 
have changed the face of commerce as well as the route of industry. I had 
naturalized in the midst of us sugar and indigo. I should have naturalized 
cotton, and many other articles of foreign produce. They would have seen 
me displace the colonies, if they had obstinately refused to grant us a share 
in them. With us the impulse was most powerful. National prosperity and 
science advanced beyond measure. Yet your ministers proclaimed through 
all Europe that the French were overwhelmed with misery, and Avere retro- 
grading to a state of barbarism. Thus the vulgar mass of the Allies were 
strangely surprised at the sight of our interior, and you even were disconcert- 
ed. The strides of knowledge in France were gigantic. The ideas of the 
French people were every where properly directed and extended. We took 
pains to render science popular. I have been informed that your country- 
men are distinguished for their knowledge of chemistry. I am, however, far 
from deciding on which side of the water the most able chemists will be 
found." 

"In France," said Governor Wilks, promptly. 

"It is of little importance," continued the Emperor; "but I maintain 
that in the mass of the French people there is ten, and perhaps a hundred 
times more chemical knowledge than in England, because the manufacturing 
classes now employ it in their daily labor. This was one of the character- 
istics of my school. Had I been allowed sufficient time, there would soon 



152 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChA1\ X. 

liavo boon no suoh things as tnuhs in Tianoo ; thov avouUI all luuo boon 
couvovtod into iwL^. 

"Knglund and IVanoo hold in thoir hands the lato ot' tho -worKl, partiou- 
larly that of European civilization. How much injuvy -wo did oaoh other! 
how niuoh good might wo not havo dono ! Undov tho school o\' Pitt wo have 
desolated tho ■world, and with what result? You inijHised on l-'rauoo a tax 
of three hundred millions of dollars, ami raised it by means ot" C^ossaoks ; I 
laid a tax of fourteen hundred millions on you, ami made you raise it Avitii 
vour own hands by moans of your Parliament. And to-day, o\'on after your 
victory, is it certain that you may not, sooner or later, sink beneath the 
weight of such a burden V A\'ith tiie system o[' Fox, we should havo under- 
stood oaoh other; we slio\dd havo accomplished and maintained the omanoi- 
pation of tho peoples, tho reign of principles. There would havo been in Eu- 
rope but a siuLrlo ileot, a single armv. AVo should havo united our interests 
and our etforts ; wo shoidd havo yoked together io advanoo with nu^»re oertain- 
ty to the sanu^ end : avo might have governed the world ; we might every whore 
have established poaeo anil j>rospority, either by foreo or jiersuasion. Yes, I 
repeat, what misehief havo wo done I what good might wo not have etieoted!" 

After a short pause the Kmperor continued : 

" I have always wished sincerely for peace, and always otfered it after a 
victory. I have never asked it after a reverse, because a nation more readi- 
ly iTpairs its resources and iinds new troops than recovers its honor. I am 
wrono-fully accused of having refused peace at Presden. AVhen history shall 
give publicity to tho negotiations of Prague, tho polioy of ^letternich will be 
lunnasked, and justice will be done me. I wished for a gvneral peace, hon- 
orable to all jiarties, and s\ich as Avould secure the repose of Europe. As the 
price of her mediation, Austria wished, by a stroke of the pen, to demolish 
the ramparts of Dantzig, Custrin, 3Iagdoburg, AVesel, ]\Iayence, Antwerp, 
Alexandria, and ^lantua — in short, of all the strongest places in Europe, of 
which my troops were still in possession, and the keys of which had cost 
me thirty victories. She dared to propose to me, Avitii arms in my hands, to 
cvaciiate the half of Clennany, and to wait, like an idiot, behind the Ivhine, 
till the allied armies, having recovered the losses which they had sustained 
in so many battles, should be in condition to put forward new pretensions. 
It was in the name of my father-in-law, before Austria had drawn the sword, 
that they Hattered themselves with inducing me to sign their insulthig pro- 
posal. 1 said to ^letternich, Avith indignation, 'Is it my father-in-law who 
entertains such a project f Is it he who sends you to me f In what an at- 
titude does he wish to place me before the French people ! He is strangely 
mistaken if he su]iposes that a throne so mutilated as that could atford a 
refugx* for his daughter and his grandson in France. How nuich has England 
o-iven von to induce vou to play this e;amo against mo? Have not I done 
enough for your fortune? It is of no oonsoquonci.^ — bo frank — what is it 
you wish? If twenty millions will not satisfy you, say what you wish?' 

" The suddoTi paleness of ^letternich, and his silence, recalled mo to my- 
self: but the blow was mortal, and from that moment I had no further belief 



1816, April.] 



RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



153 




NAPOLEON AND METTERNICH IN COUNCIL. 



in peace. On the same evening, however, my minister for foreign affairs 
signed a convention, "by which I accepted the mediation of Austria, which, on 
her part, engaged to obtain from the AUies that a congress should he assem- 
bled in Prague before the 10th of August, in order to negotiate a general 
peace. My plenipotentiaries went thither, and their declarations, as record- 
ed in the minutes, prove that I wished for peace at aU cost, provided French 
honor was respected. 

" I have always been of opinion that the rivalries between great nations 
have been the results of misunderstanding, and from the moment that I was 
balked in my project of making a descent upon England by the fault of 
Admiral Villeneuve, I never desired any thing but peace. As long as the 
negotiations on your part were conducted by Fox, they were honorably con- 
ducted, and had he lived, England and France would have been united in the 
closest alliance since 1806. Unfortunately for both nations. Fox died, and 
the ministry which succeeded him adopted the shade of Pitt for its a^gis. 

" In short, I have always wished for peace with England by all means 
reconcilable with the dignity of the French nation. I have desired peace 
at the cost of all sacrifices consistent with national honor. I had neither 
prejudice, hatred, nor jealousy of ambition against England. It was of little 
consequence to me that England was rich and prosperous, provided that 
France was so also. I should not have contested with her the dominion of 



154 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [Chap. X. 

the sea, I repeat, if at sea she luul boon ivady to ivspoct the I'lvnch tiag, as 
the Emperors of Austria or llussia wouUl have respeeted our staiulanls on 
land. Had 1 been conijueror at \\'aterk)o, 1 shoidd have uuuk> no eluujgv in 
the message sent to London before -passing the Si^mbre. You are about to 
go to London. Tell vour fellow-citizens what ^'0u have hoard, and that in 
going on board the 2itile>'oj>ho)i of my own accord, I g-^ive the English peoph' 
the highest proof of my esteem." 

Four ships arrived during the day, briiiging another regiment to guard the 
l^hriporor. .Vfter dinner. Napoleon good-huuunvdly related the remark of an 
old soldier of the 53d, who, having yesterday, for the tlrst time, seen the I'hn- 
peror, .went back to his comrades and said, 

"• What lies they told me about Napoleon's age. He is not old at all. 
The rogue has at least sixty campaigns in his body yet." 

This led to the recital of many anecdotes respecting the feeling of the Fivnch 
soldiers upon the Kmperor's return from Elba. One pleased Na^K^eon liigh- 
ly. Lnmediately after the Emperor's landing, there was a grand iwiew at 
Lyons of the king's troops. Count d'Artois, apprehensive of the attachment 
of his men to their old chieftain, said to thcn\, 

'' You are well clotlunl and well fed. Vour wages are punctually paid." 

" Yes, certainly," replied an old grenadier. 

" Well,'' continued the count, " it was not so under Bonaparte. Your pay 
was in arrears. He was in your debt." 

''xVnd wliat did that signify," the grenadier boldly replied, " if we were 
willing to trust him ?" 

Aj>nl 2L Captain Hamiton, of the frigate Jlavana^ who was the next 
day to sail for England, called, by appointment, at four o'clock in the after- 
noon, to take leave of the Emperor. The audience took place under a tree 
in the i;-arden, where the Kmperor, with his companions around him, receiveil 
the captain. In the course of a very friendly conversation, Napoleon, hav- 
ing inquiivd of the captain if he should probably see tlie Prince Reg-ent, anil 
being answered in the athrmative, said to him, 

'' Tell the Prince Kegent that I liave but one thing to ask, my liberty or 
im executioner. I ani not the prisoner of England, and the government has, 
iji my case, most unworthily violated the sacred laws of hospitality, which 
even savages respect." 

Captain Hamiton ventured to observe that the Emperor was not tlie pris- 
oner of England alone, but of all the allied powers. 

"" I am not the prisoner," the Emperor replied, " of Kussia, ^Vustria, or 
Prussia. I freely, and of my own accord, gave myself up to England, be- 
cause I had contidence in the sacred faith of the law, and in the honor of the 
.Knglish people. I have been cruelly deceived. The justice of (uxl will 
avenge me. Already that of man has set an indelible mark of disgrace upon 
the conduct of your government. 

" Had I given myself to Ivussia, I ishould have been well received, for Al- 
exander and I are friends. Had I surrendei-ed to Austria, I should have 
been equally well treated. The Emperor Francis would not have wished to 



1816, April.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. I55 

inflict disgrace upon the husband of his daughter and the father of his grand- 
son. Undoubtedly ]\Ietternich's police would have watched my most trifling 
actions. But what would liis police have been to me, when I had renounced 
all concern in political affairs, and wished to live politically a stranger to all in- 
trigues ? I would have occupied the whole of my time in the education of 
my son, and in the peaceful enjoyment of family happiness. If, finally, I had 
thrown myself into the hands of the Prussians, the king would have received 
me with the recollection of his own misfortunes and my generosity ; for, if 
I did him much evil, it was the result of his own conduct, and it depended 
entirely upon myself to do him much more. The King of Prussia is an hon- 
est man, a man of honor, who would not have violated the sacred laws of hos- 
pitality. I must do him that justice. The hatred which your ministers bear 
to me has left a stain upon English honor. If the Prince Regent is really 
powerless against the decisions of his ministers, he should avow it, and pro- 
test before the nation. He is but a contemptible or wicked king who sym- 
pathizes with the vulgar passions of his inferiors when he is able to repress 
them," 

The Emperor returned to his room and sent for Las Casas. Together they 
perused an English publication containing the official documents found in the 
portfolio, whicli was taken from Napoleon at Waterloo. The Emperor him- 
self was astonished at the number of orders which he had issued at the same 
moment, and at the countless details which he had directed in all quarters 
of the empire. 

" This publication," he said, " after all, can do me no harm. It will at 
least satisfy every one that its contents are not the production of a slug- 
gard. They will compare me with the legitimate sovereigns, and I shall not 
suffer ]jy the comparison." 

After dinner the Emperor conversed freely upon many unconnected sub- 
jects. In speaking of his embassadors, he said, 

" I consider Count de Narbonne as the only one who fully deserved that 
title, and who really fulfilled the duties of his office. This arose not only 
fi-om his mind, which was subtle and observing, but from his polished man- 
ners and his illustrious name, which opened to him every door among the 
old aristocracy. When an embassador has but to fulfill a prescribed duty, 
any one may fill the post ; one person is just as good as another ; perhaps 
an aid-de-camp is the best man that can be chosen ; but when it is neces- 
sary to negotiate, it is a different thing ; then, to the old aristocracy of the 
courts of Europe, it is necessary to send none but the elements of that same 
aristocracy, for this is a kind of freemasonry. An Otto, an Andreossi, were 
they to enter the saloons of Vienna, immediately the free interchange of opin- 
ions would be restrained, and habitual manners would cease ; they would be 
regarded as intruders, profaners, and the mysteries would be suspended. 
But hov/ different would it be with a Narbonne, possessing the advantages of 
affinity, sympathy, identity ! 

" I was strongly attached to M. de Narbonne, and regretted him exceed- 
ingly. Until the period of his embassy, we had been duped by Austria. In 



156 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. X. 

less than a fortniglit lie penetrated all the secrets of the Vienna cabmet, and 
M. do Metternieh was dee})ly niortitied at the a])polntment. From the very 
moment of his arri\'al, he succeeded, by means oi' the triendship of one of the 
lirst ladies at court, in removing the veil which had concealed the whole truth 
from his predecessor. His mother had been lady of honor to the sisters of 
Louis XVI., and, as such, during the emigration liad contracted a great in- 
timacy Avith this lady, who looked upon Narbonne in no other light but as 
the son of her old friend. The embassador Avas forgotten in the agreeable 
recollections of the heart, antl the impressions given by the mistress of the 
house produced an electrical effect on the freipuMiters of her saloon ; hence 
they conversed in the presence of Narbonne as they would have done fifteen 
years before, and thus he knows all. However, by a singular fatality, per- 
haps even the success of IM. de Narbonne thwarted my views. I found that 
his talent Avas no less fatal than useful. Austria, thinking her designs Avere 
guessed, threw aside the mask and precipitated measures. Had less pene- 
tration been evinced on our part, she Avoidd have acted with greater reserve 
and deliberation ; she Avould have prolonged her natural indecision, and, in 
the interim, other chances might have risen up. 

" I had occasion to see the same result Avhcn I remoAed Talleyrand from 
the oflice of foreiirn affairs. There Avere still some aristocratical affinities Avith 
Champagny, for he Avas an ancient noble, but there Avere none AvhateA'er Avith 
Maret ; and still, the latter had all the courtliness of the old 7-e(/irne, and the 
Duchess of Bassano, his Avife, Avas, Avithout contradiction, as graceful in her 
deportment as she Avas beautiful. It Avas, hoAVCver, natural, after all. T/ie 
barrel still s^jnells of the herring."' 

Count jMontholon alluded to the French embassadors at Dresden and Ber- 
lin, and censured their conduct. The Fmperor defended them, saying, 

" The fault Avas not to be attributed to persons, but to things. At a single 
glance, one might haA'c foreseen Avhat Avould have happened. For my part, I 
Avas not deceived for a moment. I did not coiuluct the army in person back 
to AVilna and into Germany through the apprehension of not being able to 
reach France myself. I Avished to obviate this danger by the boldness of 
my movement in crossing Germany rapidly and alone. I Avas, hoAA'CA'cr, on 
^le point of being taken in Silesia, but luckily the Prussians Avere delibera-. 
tkipf at the moment Avhcn they ought to haA'C been acting. Their conduct 
iii*tlns respect AA-as like that AA'hich the Saxons observed toAvard Charles XII., 
Avho said, Avheu he quitted Dresden on a similar occasion, ' You Avill see that 
they Avill deliberate to-morroAV Avhether they oui;-ht to have detained me to-. 
day.'" 

Just before dinner the Kmperor had called T^as Casas into his room to 
speak about replenishing his Avardrobe. He said that he had just been cal^ 
culating the expenses of his toilet, and that it cost him about tAventy dollars 
a month. He spoke of ordering clothes, boots, shoes, &.C., from tradesmen in 
Europe Avho had his measure. Las Casas, hoAA-CA'er, suggested that his ene- 
mies would not permit this. 

"It is, hoAvcA'cr," said the Emperor, "extremely vexatious to be thus de- 



1816, April] 



RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



157 




THE EMPEROR CUOSSINO POLAND. 



privcd of money, and I wish to come to some settlement on this point. As 
soon as the hill, which is to determine our situation here, shall he notified to 
me, I intend to make arrangements for receiving an armual loan of thiii;y- 
five or forty thousand dollars from Eugene. He can not refuse me. He 
has received from me, perhaps, upward of eight millions. It would be doing 
injustice to his personal sentiments to doubt his readiness to serve me ; be- 
sides, we have long accounts to settle together. I am sure, if I had appoint-^ 
ed a committee of my councilors of state to draw up a report upon this ^Ibt 
ject, they would have presented me with a balance of at least two or three 
millions on Eugene." *' » 

A branch of this subject was renewed at tlie dinner-table, and the Emper- . 
or asked the gentlemen present their opinions respecting the sums necessary 
to enable a bachelor to live in a European capital, or for the support of -a 
plain family establishment, or for the maintenance of a family in a style of 
elegance. "He is fond," says Las Casas, "of these questions. He treats 
them with great shrewdness, and enters into the most curious details. We 
each presented our budgets, and agreed that a residence in Paris would cost 
a bachelor three thousand dollars (15,000 francs), a plain family establish- 
ment eight thousand dollars, and a family in elegance twenty thousand. The 



158 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. X, 

Emperor dwelt much on the prices of various articles, and even on the prices 
of the same articles as they are charged to different persons and under differ- 
ent circumstances." 

"When I was about to leave the army of Italy," said lie, "to return to 
Paris, Madam Bonaparte wrote to inform me that she had furnished, in the 
best possible style, a small house that we had in the Rue de la Victoire. 
The house was not worth more than eight thousand dollars. What was my 
surprise and vexation to find that the drawing-room furniture, which, after 
all, appeared to me nothing out of the way, was charged at the enormous 
price of about twenty-five thousand dollars ! In vain did I remonstrate. I 
was obliged to pay the amount. The upholsterer showed me the directions 
he had received, and which required that every article sliould be the very 
best of its kind. Every tiling had been made after new designs, and the de- 
signs themselves had been invented expressly for the fitting up of my house. 
Any judge of the case must have condemned me." 

The Emperor then adverted to the extravagant charges made for furnish- 
ing the imperial palaces, and the vast economy Avliich he had introduced on 
this point. The following particulars will show some of the methods he 
adojited for ascertaining the correctness of the accounts that Avere presented 
to him. 

" On one occasion Avhen he returned to the Tuileries, wliich had been 
magnificently fitted up during his absence, the individuals who attended him 
eagerly drew his attention to all the new furniture and decorations. After 
expressing his satisfaction at every tiling he saw, he walked up to a Avindow 
overhung by a rich curtain, and asking for a pair of scissors, he cut off a su- 
perb gold acorn which was suspended from the drapery, and coolly putting 
it into his pocket, continued his inspection, to the great astonishment of all 
present, who Avere unable to guess his motive. Some days afterward, at 
his levee, he drew the acorn from his pocket, and gave it to the individual 
who superintended the furnishing of the palace. 

" ' Here,' said he ; ' Heaven forbid that I should think you rob me ; but 

some one has doubtless robbed you. You have paid for this at the rate of 

one tliird above its value. They have dealt with you as if you had been 

^he steward of a great nobleman. You Avould have made a better bargain 

^You had not been known.' 

• T? 'pi^g fg^Q^ ^g^g ij-jjj^^ Napoleon, having walked out one morning in disguise. 
as he Avas often in the habit of doing, visited some of the shops in the Rue 
St. Denis, Avhere lie priced ornaments similar to that Avliich he had cut from 
the curtain, and inquired the value of various articles of furnitiu-e like those 
provided for the palace, and thus, as he said, he arrived at the result in its 
simplest form. Every one knew his habit in this respect. Those, he re- 
marked, Avere his grand plans for insuring domestic economy, which, not- 
withstanding his extreme magnificence, were carried to the utmost degree of 
precision and regularity. 

" In spite of his numerous avocations, he himself revised all his accounts : 
but he had his own method of doing this, and they were always made out tc 



1816, April. 



RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



159 




THE GOLDEN ACORN. 



him in tlieir details. He would cast his eye on the first article — sugar, for 
example — and finding some millions of pounds set down, would take a pen, 
and say to the person who drew up the accounts, 

" ' How many individuals are there in my household ?' 

" ' Sire, so many,' Avould be the reply ; and it was necessary to give the 
answer immediately. 

" ' And how many pounds of sugar do you suppose they consume in a 
day, on an average?' ^ 

" ' Sire, so many.' " 

The Emperor immediately made his calculation, and having satisfied him- 
self, he would give back the paper, saying, 

" Sir, I have doubled your estimate of the daily consumption, and yet you 
are enormously beyond the mark. Your account is faulty. Make it out 
again, and let me have greater coiTectness." 

This reproof would be sufficient to establish the strictest regularity. Thus 
he sometimes said of his private as of his public administration, 

" I have introduced such order, and employed so many checks, that I can 
not be much imposed upon. If I am wronged at all, I leave the guilty 
person to settle the matter with his own conscience. He will not sink un- 
der the weight of his crime, for it can not be very heavy." 



160 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XI. 



CHAPTER XI. 

1816, April. Continued. 

Critique on Voltaire's Mohammed — Remarks on the Mohammed of Historj"^ — Gretry — Napoleon'a 
Proclamations — His Policy in Egypt — Confession of an illegal Act — The Domestics examined — 
The Emperor a Peace-maker — The Abbe de Pradt — The Russian War. 

A.pril 22—25. Dismal clays darkened over the island, and the inmates of 
Longwood, enveloped in fogs and rain, were imprisoned in tlieir narrow cham- 
bers. The Emperor devoted himself with great regularity to his studies, and 
to the dictation of the campaign of 1814. In the evening the group assem- 
bled round the Emperor, and he read to them from the plays of Voltaire. 
Napoleon was an admirable reader, and the interest of the entertainment was 
vastly enhanced by those observations and criticisms which gush ti-om the 
soul of genius. 

Mohammed was the subject of profound criticism. 

"Voltaire," said the Emperor, "in the character and conduct of his hero, 
is alike false to history and to the human heart. He has degraded the grand 
character of Mohammed by making him descend to the lowest intrigues. He 
has repi'esented an illustrious man, who clmnged the face of the world, acting 
like a worthless wretch deserving the scaffold. He has no less absurdly trav- 
estied the lofty character of Omar, which he has drawn like the cut-throat 
of a melodrama. 

" Voltaire committed a fundamental error in attributing to intrig-ue that 
which was solely the result of opinion. ]\Ien who have wrought great changes 
in the world have never done it by gaining the chiefs, but always by moving 
the masses. The first measure is the resort of intrigue, and produces sec- 
ondary results ; the second is the march of genius, and transforms the face 
of the world." 

The Emperor, then, reverting to the truth of history, expressed his disbe- 
lief of what was recorded respecting Mohammed. 

" He must doubtless have been," said he, " like all chiefs of sects. Tlie 
Koran, having been written thirty years after his death, may have recorded 
many falsehoods. The empire of the Prophet, his doctrine, and his mission, 
being established and fulfilled, people might, and must, have spoken accord- 
ingly. Still, it remains to be explained how the prodigious event Avhich avc 
are certain did take take place, namely, the conquest of the world, could 
have been effected in the short space of fifty or sixty years. By whom was 
it brought about ? By tlie hordes of the desert, who, as we are informed, 
were few in number, ignorant, unwarlike, undisciplined, and destitute of sys- 
tem. And yet they opposed the civilized world, abounding in resources. 
Fanatacism could not have accomplished this miracle, for fanatacism must 
have had time to establish her dominion, and the career of Mohammed lasted 



1816, April.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. ' IQl 

only thirteen years. Independentlj of the fortuitous events hy which mira- 
cles are sometimes produced, there must have been, in this case, some hid- 
den circumstance which has never been transmitted to our knowledge. Eu- 
rope doubtless sunk beneath the results of some first cause of which we are 
ignorant. The different races of men, who suddenly issued from the desert, 
had perhaps been engaged in long civil wars, in which men of heroic charac- 
ter and great talent might have risen up, and irresistible impulses have been 
created. 

" But to return to Voltaire," said he, "it is astonishing how ill his dramas 
are adapted for reading. When criticism and good taste are not cheated by 
pomp of diction and scenic illusion, he immediately loses a thousand per cent. 
It will scarcely be believed that, at the time of the Revolution, Voltaire had 
superseded Corneille and Racine. The beauties of these two great drama- 
tists lay dormant until the First Consul again ushered them into notice." 

"The Emperor spoke truly," said Las Casas. "It is very certain that 
when he brought us back to civilization, he at the same time restored us to 
good taste. He revived our dramatic and lyric chefs d'oeuvres, even those 
pieces which had been proscribed for political reasons. Thus liichard Coeur 
de Lion was again brought upon the stage, though a tender interest had, as 
it were, consecrated it to the Bourbons." 

"Poor Gretry," said the Emperor, " had long urged me to permit the per- 
formance of the opera of Richard. It was rather a dangerous experiment, 
and a violent uproar was predicted. The representation, however, went off 
without any unpleasant circumstances, and I ordered it to be rej)eated for a 
week and a fortnight in succession, until the public were completely tired of 
it. The charm being broken, Richard continued to be played like any ordi- 
nary piece until the time when the Bourbons, in their turn, prohibited it be- 
cause it excited an interest in tny favor." 

A^yril 26. Sir Hudson Lowe sent to Las Casas two books, with a note, in 
which he expressed the hope that their perusal would be gratifying to the 
Emperor. One of these works was the Abbe de Pradt's Embassy to War- 
saw, a malignant libel upon Napoleon. The other was a collection of all the 
proclamations and official documents of Napoleon, published by the infamous 
libelist Goldsmith. Though some of the finest bulletins were suppressed 
and others mutilated, the collection was still a noble monument to the polit- 
ical wisdom and genius of the Emperor. It is uncertain whether Sir Hud- 
son Lowe, in this act, was guilty of an intentional insult, or whether it was 
the stupid blunder of a coarse and vulgar man. After dinner, the Emperor 
amused himself in reading some of his own proclamations to the army of It- 
aly. As, reclining upon the sofa, he perused the glowing periods, his spirit 
was roused by the fire of his own youthful eloquence. 

" And yet," he exclaimed, "they have dared to say that I could not write." 

He then turned to the proclamations to the army in Egypt, in which he 
had spoken of his mission to Egypt as one which Pro"\ddence had appointed, 
and of himself as an ap-ent of the Deitv. 

"This is charlatanrv, it is true," said he," but it is charlatanry of the 
^ L 



1 02 



NAl'Ol.KON AT ST. HKl.KNA. 

I II III! I i.l\ ^io^H^"!! lilV< il'ii^lt 



[Cnw. Xl 

i^'^'^'' ^-m 




"AND YKT I'llliY HAVE DARKU TO SAY 'I'llAl' 1 IHULK NOT WIUTK." 

Iiigliost onU'v. Hositli's, the j)i\K'l;uuallou was coiupitsi'd Duly lor tlic purpose 
of beiuj;- translated into high-Hown .Vrabic verse Ly one of the cleverest of 
tlie sheiks, ^ly Freneh tnn^ps nicM-eh" la\ii;he(l at It. And siieh Avas their 
disposition in this res])ei't, both in Italy anil in 1'1>;\ pt, that, in order to in- 
iluei' tlieni to listen to tlu> bari^ mention of religion, 1 A\as myself obliged to 
sju>ak very lightly npon the subjeet — to place Jews by the side of ( 'hristians, 
and rabbis beside bishops. 

"The assertion, howmer, made b\' (Joldsmitli, of my having assumed the 
Mussulman's dress, is totally t'alse. If L ever entered a moscpu', it Avas al- 
ways as a couipu'ror and not as a w<n"shijter: but, after all, it would not have 
hceu so M'ry i>.\trai)rdiuar\' e\(>u though eireumstanees had induced me to 
end)race Islamism. Ibit 1 nnist haxc had good reasiuis for my conversion ; 
I nmst ha\e been secure of advancing as tar as the bjuphrates, at k'ast. 
Change of religion, ini>\cusable forjn-ivate iutcri'sts, may perha])s be pardon- 
ed in consideration ot' iiumense ]iolitical results. IUmu-v W. said '/'a/vV !s 
kyII worth a inattft,^ ^^'ill it tlu>n be said that the dmuiiuon t)f the East, and 
perhaps the subjugation of all Asia, were not worth a turban and ajxn'r of 
trowfit'r,s' / And, in truth, the Avhole matter Avas redneed to this. The grand 
sheiks had studied how to render it easy to ns. They had smoothed doAvn 
the greatest obstacles ; alloAved ns the use of Avine, and dispensed Avith all 
corporeal formalities. AVe should, therefore, have lost only our small clothes 
and hats. I say ar, for the army, in the disposition in which it then Avas, 
Avould have entertained few scruples on the subject, and Avould Imve made it 
a mere matter of jest ami laughter; but Avhat Avould have been the eonse- 
(puMiec? 1 should lunc turned mA' back on lOurope, ami the old civilization 
of the routiuent \\ nndd have beeir'bound Tip; and Avho Avould then have 
troubled themselves about the coiusc of the destinies of our France, or the 
regeneration of the age? Who would lunc attempted it? Avho could Iuia'C 
suceeeded ?'' 



1816, April] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. Ig3 

The Emperor, continuing Jiin examination of Goldsmith's Look, Ly chance 
cast his eye on the act of tlie consuls hy which the commandant of jyiantua 
was cashiered for the Hurrcnder of that fortress. 

" Tiiis," said tlic lOinpcror, " was, witlioat douht, an illegal and tyrannical 
act, Ijut it was a necessary evil. It was the fault of the laws, 'J.lie gen- 
eral was a hundred and a thousand times guilty, and yet it was doubtful 
whetln^r we ought to have condemned him. His acjiiittal would have pro- 
duced the most fatal effects. We therefore struck him with the arm of pub- 
he opinion ; but I repeat, it was a tyrannical act — one of those severe strokes 
which are sometimes indispensably necessary in a great nation, and under 
i rnportant circumstances. " 

During the day Dr. O'iMeara called in, and was speaking of a ship which 
was daily expected, ^i'he JOrnperor inquired if the vessel was furnished with 
a chronometer, and, on receiving an answer in the negative, he said, 

" The vessel may probably miss the island through the want of one. How 
shameful it is for your government to put three or four hundred men on board 
of a ship destirifid for this place Avithout a chronometer, thereby running the 
risk of losing ship and cargo, of the value of pcrlxaps half a million, together 
with the lives of so many poor creatures, for the sake of saving a hundred 
dollars for a watch I I ordered that every ship employed in the J.'Vench serv- 
ice should be supjJied with one. It is a weakness in your government not 
to be accounted for." 

Then turning to anotlier subject, the Kmperor inrpjired, " Is it true that 
a court of inquiry is now holding upon some officer for making too free with 
the bottle ? Is it a crime for the English to get intoxicated ? If that were 

th(; case, you would have nothing but courts-martial every day. was 

merry on l^oard cvary day after dinner." 

April 27. At two o'clock the governor came to Longwood, and demanded 
permission to summon all the domestics before him, that he might ascertain 
whether their signatui'cs had been spontaneously given. The Emperor said 
to Count Montholon, who had the superintendence of the servants, 

"Inform Sir Hudson Lowe, in my nan)C, tljat I had not imagined that 
there could be any pretense for interference between me and my valet de 
cli.arabre. If my permission is asked, I decidedly refuse it. If the govern- 
or's instructions rcjuire the adoption of this measure, the power is in his own 
hands, and he may use it. This will only be adding another outrage to those 
which the ]Onglish ministers have already accumulated upon, me." 

TIk; governor persisted. He assembled the servants, and, by an exam- 
ination of each individual, found that they all wished to remain at St. Hele- 
na with the Emperor. 

About five o'clock the lOrnperor went out to ride in his plain barouche. 
As he was entering the carriage, he said to his companions, in a tone of irony, 
and yet of gayety, 

"Gentlemen, but for one man I should have been master of the Avorldl 
And who do you think this one man was?" 

All were eager to know. 



164 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [CuAP. XL 

"The Abbe de Pradt," continued the Kmperor; " the almoner of the lunl 
of war." 

This excited a general burst of laughter. 

"I am serious," the Emperor continued. ''The abbe thus expresses 
himself in his 'Embassy to AVarsaw.' You may read it yourselves. The 
work is altoo-ether a wicked attack on me, an absolute libel, overwhelming 
me with insults and calumnies. "Whether I happened to be in a particular 
good humor at the time, or Avhether it was because only truth otfends, [ know 
not, but, at all events, it only made me smile. It truly amused me." 

" ^Misunderstandings," says Las Casas, "occasionally occurred between 
two individuals of the Emperor's suite. This cireumstance Avould not have 
been mentioned here but that it serves to introduce some characteristic traits 
of the mind and heart of him to whom we arc devoted. When I entered the 
drawing-room to wait luitil the announcenuMit for dinner, T found tlie Vau- 
peror speaking Avith the utmost warmth on this subject, Avhich troubled him 
exeeedimrly. Ilis lano-uao-e was energetic and n^ovinjr." 

"You followed me," said he, "with the yiew of cheering my captivity. 
/?(' hi'ot/ur^, otherwise you do but annoy me. Do you Avish to render nu- 
]i;t])py "i ]>e luiiteil, then ; otherwise yon are to nie but a punishment. You 
siwak of liiihtino; eyen before \\\\ yery ca'CS. Am 1, then, no lonirer the ob- 
ject of your regard? Are not the eyes of foreigners tixed upon us? I wisli 
that eaeh one here may be animated by my spirit. I wish that each one 
arounel me may be ]iaj)py — that each one in ])artieular may share the few en- 
joyments Avhieh are yet lett for us. Even down to little Innuauuel there, 1 
wish you all to haye your due share." 

The announcement of dinner ])ut an end to the rej)rimand. 

Aj>rH 28. The I'hnperor again recurred to the Avork of the Abbe de Pradt. 
" In the tirst pag"e," said he, " lie states himself to be the only man Avho ar- 
rested Napoleon's career. In the last, he shows that the Emperor, on his 
Avay back from Moscow, dismissed him from the embassy, Avhich is true. 
And this tact his self-love Avould fain misrepresent or reA'cnge. This is the 
Avhole Avork. 

" But the abbe did not fuliill at Warsaw any of the objects which liad been 
intended. Chi the contrary, he did a great deal of mischief. Iveports against 
him pomed in upon nic from every quarter. Even the young men, the clerks 
attached to the embassy, Avere surprised at his conduct, and AA'cnt so iar as t<» 
accuse him of nuaintaining an mulerstanding Avith the enemy, Avhich, hoAVCA-er, 
I by no means believed. But he certainly had a long eouAcrsation Avith me, 
Avhieh he misrepresents, as might be expected. And it Avas at the very mo- 
ment Avhen lie Avas delivering a long, jn'osing speech, Avhich appeareil to me 
a mere string of absurdity and impertinence, that I Avrote upon the chimney- 
piece the order to AvithdraAV him from his embassy, and to send him, as soon 
as possible, to France — a eireumstanc(> Avhlcli AA'as the cause of a good deal of 
merriment at the time, and Avhicli the abbe seems Acry desirous of concealing."* 

* The abbe, in his " Embassy to Warsaw," jrivos an iiitcrcstinsr account of the Emperor Napo- 
leon's court at Dresden. " You," he savs, " wlio wish to form a just iilea of the omnipotence exer 



ISlC. April] 



RESIDENCE AT LONG WOOD. 



165 




INTERVIEW WITH THE ABBfi DE PRADT AT WARSAW. 



" They are distorted facts and mutilated conversations. Surely," contin- 
ued the li^jinperor, as he read the abbe's adulation of the Allies and denuncia- 
tion of himself, " this is not a French bishop, but an Eastern magician, a 
worshiper of the rising sun." 

Speaking of the Russian war. Napoleon said, " No events are trifling with 
regard to nations and sovereigns, for their destinies are controlled by the 
juost inconsiderable circumstances. For some time a misunderstanding had 
risen up between France and Russia. France reproached Russia with the 

c'ned in Europe by the Emperor Napoleon — who wish to fathom the depths of terror into which 
almost every European sovereign has fallen, transport yourselves in imagination to Dresden, and 
there contemplate that superb prince at the period of his highest glory, so nearly bordering on his 
fall. The Emperor occupied the grand apartments of the chateau, whither he had transported a 
considerable portion of his household. Here he gave grand dinner-parties, which were always at- 
tended by the sovereigns and the different members of their families, according to the invitations is- 
sued by the grand marshal of the palace. Some private individuals were admitted on these occa- 
sions. I enjoyed that honor on the day of my appointment to the embassy of Warsaw. The Em- 
peror's levees were held here, as at the Tuileries, at nine o'clock. Then, with what timid submis- 
sion did a crowd of princes, mingling with the courtiers, and often scarcely perceived among them, 
an.xiously await the moment for presenting themselves before the new arbitrator of their destinies I" 



166 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAF. XI. 

violation of the Continental system, and Russia required an indemnification 
for the Duke of Oklenbiu'g, and raised other pretensions. Russian troops 
were approaching the duchy of Warsaw, and a French army was forming in 
the north of Germany. Yet we were far from being determined on war, when, 
all of a sudden, a new Russian army connnenced its march toward the duchy, 
and, as as ultimatum, an insolent note was presented at Paris by the Russian 
embassador, who, in the event of its non-acceptance, threatened to quit Paris 
in eight days. I considered this as a declaration of war. It was long since I 
had been accustomed to this soi't of tone. I was not in the habit of allowing 
myself to be anticipated. I could march to Russia at the head of the rest of 
Europe. The enterprise was popular. The cause was one which interested 
Eurt)pe. It was the last effort that remained to France. Her fate, and that 
of the new European system, depended on the struggle. Russia was the 
last resource of England. The peace of the whole world rested with Rus- 
sia. The event could not be doubtful. I commenced my march, but when 
I reached the frontier, I, against whom Russia had declared war by with- 
draAving her embassador, still considered it my dutv to send mine to the Em- 
peror Alexander, who was at Wilna. ]\Iy embassador was rejected, and the 
war commenced. 

" Yet, who woidd- credit it ? Alexander and myself were in the situation 
of two bullies, wlio, without wishino-to fiuht, were endeavorino; to terrify each 
other. I would most Avillinglv have maintained peace. I was surrounded 
and overwhelmed witli unfavorable circumstances, and all tliat I have since 
learned convinces me that Alexander was still less eager for Avar than my- 
self. M. de Romanzoff, who had maintained communications at Paris, and 
Avho, some time after, Avhen the Russians experienced reverses, was very se- 
verely treated by Alexander for the course he had induced him to pui-sue, 
had assui-ed the Russian emperor that the moment was come when Napole- 
on, in his embarrassments, would readily make some sacrifices to avoid war ; 
that the favorable opportunity should not be allowed to escape ; that it Avas 
only necessary to assume a bold attitude and a tone of firmness ; that indem- 
nity Avould be obtained for the Duke of Oldenburg ; that Dantzic Avould be 
gained, and that Russia Avould thus acquire immense Aveight in Europe. 

"• Such A\-as the cause of the movement of the Russian troops, and of the 
insolent note of Prince Kurakin, Avho, doubtless, Avas not in the secret, and 
who had been foolish enough to execute his instructions in too literal a Avay. 
The same mistaken notions, and the same system also, occasioned the refusal 
to receive Lauriston at Wilna. This Avas an instance of the errors and mis- 
fortunes which attended my new diplomacy. It stood insulated, Avithout af- 
finity or contact, in the midst of the objects AA'hich it had to direct. Had my 
minister for foreign affairs been a member of the old aristocracy, and a man 
of superior ability, there is no doubt but that he must have observed the 
cloud that Avas gathering, and miglit liave prevented our going to Avar. Tal- 
leyrand, perhaps, might liave done this, but it AA-as above the poAvers of the 
ncAV school. I could not make the discovery mA^self ; my dignity precluded 
personal explanations. I could form my judgment only from documents ; 



1816, April.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 167 

and in vain did I turn them over and over, for I was sure at last to arrive at 
a point where thej could make no reply to my inquiries. 

" Scarcely had I opened the campaign when the mask fell, and the real 
sentiments of the enemy were developed. In the course of two or three 
days, Alexander, alarmed at our first successes, dispatched a messenger to me 
to say that, if I would evacuate the invaded territory, and fall back as far as 
the Niemen, he would enter upon negotiations. But I, in my turn, took this 
for a stratagem ; I was elated with success ; I had taken the Russian army 
in the critical moment ; I had cut off Bagi'ation, and I might have hoped to 
destroy him ; I thought, however, that the enemy merely wanted to gain 
time for the purpose of rallying his forces. Had I heen convinced of Alex- 
ander's sincerity, I should doubtless have acceded to his proposition of falling 
back to the Niemen. In that case, he would not have passed the Dwina, 
Wilna would have been neutralized, and there Alexander and myself, accom- 
panied by a few battalions of our Guard, would have negotiated in person. 
How many arrangements should I not have proposed I Alexander would 
have had only to take his choice, and Ave should have separated good friends. 

"Yet, in. spite of the events which succeeded, and which left my enemy 
triumphant, is it quite certain that the measures I have just hinted at would 
have been less advantageous than those which have since been pursued ? 
Alexander marched to Paris, it is true, but he came accompanied by the 
forces of all Europe. He has gained Poland, but what wiU be the result of the 
shock given to the whole European system ; of the agitation into which ev- 
ery nation has been thrown ; of the increase of European influence over the 
rest of Russia, through the accumulation of new acquisitions ; the expeditions 
in which Russian troops are engaged in remote quarters, and the influence 
of the incongruous mass of men and knowledge which have taken refuge in 
Russia from foreign parts ? 

"Will the Russian sovereigns be content to consolidate what they have 
acquired ? If, on the contrary, they should be influenced by ambition, Avhat 
extravagant enterprises may they not attempt ? And yet they have lost Mos- 
cow, her wealth and her resources, and those of many other cities ! These 
are wounds which will bleed for half a century; but at Wilna we might 
have entered into aiTangements for the advantage of all, subjects as well as 
sovereigns. What, then, has Alexander gained which he might not have 
secured to better advantage at Wilna ?" 

" He has conquered," Las Casas replied, "and he remains triumphant." 

" That may be the vulgar opinion," exclaimed the Emperor, " but no sover- 
eign should entertain such an idea. A monarch if he himself governs, or his 
counselors if they govern him, must, in vast enterprises of this nature, at- 
tach less importance to the victory than to its results ; and, even though the 
case be limited to vulgar considerations, still I maintain that the wished-for 
object has not been attained ; even here the palm must be awarded to the 
vanquished party. Who will pretend that my victories in Germany were 
equaled by the successes of the Allies in France ? Will any thinking man, 
wiU any historian, pronounce such an opinion ? 



168 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[ClLVr. XL 




I^2vg/.~(^'**^^'^^^^^^=e ^E'_ . 




THE RETREAT FROM RUSSIA. 



'' The Allies advanced, Avitli all Europe in their train, against a force which 
might almost he counted as nothing. They had six hundred thousand men 
in the line, and nearly an equal number in reserve. If they had been beat- 
en, they had nothing to fear ; they could have fallen back. I, on the contrary, 
in Germany, fifteen hundred miles from home, had hardly a force equal to 
my enemy's ; I was surrounded by sovereigns and people repressed only by 
fear, and Avho, on the iirst disaster, were ready to rise against me. But I tri- 
umphed amid dangers constantly increasing; I was incessantly compelled 
to exercise an equal degree of address and energy. In all these enterprises, 
[ found it necessary to maintain a strange character : to evince singular acute- 
ness of perception, and great confidence in my own plans, though t^xey were, 
perhaps, disapproved by every one around me. 



1816, April] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. IQQ 

" What deeds on the part of the Allies can Ibe compared with these ? If 
I had not conquered at Austerlitz, I should have had all Prussia on me. If 
I had not proved victorious at Jena, Austria and Spain would have assailed 
me in mj rear. If I had not triumphed at Wagram, which, bj-the-bj, was 
a less decisive victory, I had to fear that Eussia would abandon me, that 
Prussia would rise against me ; and, meanwhile, the English were already 
before Antwerp. Yet what was my conduct after the victory ? At Auster- 
litz I gave Alexander his liberty, though I might have made him my pris- 
oner. After Jena, I left the house of Prussia in possession of a throne which 
T had conquered. After Wagram, I neglected to parcel out the Austrian 
monarchy. 

" If all this be attributed merely to magnanimity, cold and calculating- 
politicians will doubtless blame me ; but, without rejecting that sentiment, 
to which I am not a stranger, I had higher aims in vicAV. I wished to brino- 
about the amalgamation of the great European interests in the same manner 
as I had effected the union of parties in France. My ambition was one day 
to become the arbiter in the great cause of nations and kings. It was 
therefore necessary that I should secm-e to myself claims on their gratitude, 
and seek to render myself popular among them. This I could not do with- 
out losing something of the estimation of others. I was aware of this ; but 
I was powerful and fearless. I concerned myself but Httle about transient 
popular murmurs, being very sure that the result would infallibly bring the 
people over to my side. 

" I committed a great fault, after the battle of Wagram, in not reducino- 
the power of Austria still more. She remained too strong for our safety, 
and to her we must attribute our ruin. The day after the battle, I should 
have made known by proclamation that I would treat with Austria only on 
condition of the preliminary separation of the three crowns of Austria, Hun- 
gary, and Bohemia. Will it be credited ? A prince of the house of Austria 
several times hinted to me the idea of transferring one of the two last-men- 
tioned crowns to him, or even raising him to the throne occupied by his own 
family, on pretense that it was only thus that Austria could be induced to 
act sincerely with me. He even proposed to give me, as a kind of hostage, 
his son for an aid-de-camp, and all other imaginable guarantees. 

" I even turned this idea over in my own mind. I hesitated about it for 
some time previous to my marriage with Maria Louisa, but after that event 
it became impracticable. On the subject of marriage my notions were too 
citizen-like. Austria had become a portion of my own family, and yet my 
marriage ruined me. If I had not thought myself safe and protected by this 
alliance, I should have delayed for three years the resurrection of Poland. I 
should have waited until Spain was subdued and tranquil. I set my foot 
upon an abyss concealed by a bed of flowers." 

Again the Emperor said, in reference to Constantinople, " I might have 
shared with Eussia the possession of the Turkish empire. We had, oftener 
than once, contemplated the idea, but Constantinople was always the ob- 
stacle that opposed its execution. The Turkish capital was the grand stum- 



170 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. XI. 



bling-block between us. Russia wanted it, and I could not resign it. Con- 
stantinople is an empire of itself. It is the real key-stone of power, for hr 
who possesses it may rule the world." 




THE BOSPHORUS 



April 29. The Emperor, languid and depressed, passed the Avhole day 
reading alone in the solitude of his room. About nine o'clock in the evening 
he sent for Las Casas. An atlas happened to be lying beside him. He 
opened it to the map of the world, and as his eye fell upon Persia, he said, 

" I had laid out some excellent plans with regard to that country. What 
a happy resting-point it would have been for my lever, whether I wished to 
disturb Russia or to make an incursion on India ! I had set on foot relations 
with Persia, and I hoped to bring them to a point of intimacy, as well as 
those with Turkey. It might have been supposed that these animals would 
have understood their own interests sufficiently well to have acceded to my 
propositions, but both Persians and Turks evaded me at the decisive moment. 
English gold proved more powerful than my plans. Some treacherous minis- 
ter, for a few guineas, sacrificed the prosperity of tlieir country, which is 
usually the case under seraglio monarchs or imbecile kings." 

To cheer the Emperor in these dark hours of the night. Las Casas entered 
into a recital of sundry anecdotes of the court. The Emperor perceived the 
motive, and was gratified with the attention. At the conclusion of one of the 
amusing stories, Napoleon, playfully pinching Las Casas's ear, said, 

" I have read a story in your Atlas of a northern monarch who was im- 
mured in a prison, and one of his soldiers solicited and obtained permission 
to be imprisoned with him, in order that he might cheer his spirits, either by 
inducing him to converse, or by relating amusing stories to him. My dear 
Las Casas, you are that soldier." 



1816, April.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 171 

Among others, Las Casas related the following anecdote : " It was report- 
ed, sire, that one daj your majesty, being much dissatisfied with the perusal 
of a dispatch from Vienna, said to the Empress, in a moment of iU-humor, 
' Voire pere est une ganachi (your father is a blockhead). Maria Louisa, 
who was unacquainted with many French phrases, turned to the person near- 
est her, and, observing that the Emperor had called her father a ganache, 
asked what the term meant. The courtier, embarrassed at this unexpected 
interrogatory, stammered out that the word signified a wise man, a man of 
judgment, and a good counselor. Some time afterward, the Empress, with 
her newly-learned term fresh in her memory, was present at the Council of 
State, and the discussion becoming somewhat warm, in order to put a stop 
to it, she called on M. Cambaceres, who was yawning by her side : ' You must 
set us right on this important point ; you shall be our oracle ; for I consider 
you as the greatest ganache in the empire.' " 

The Emperor laughed very heartily at this, and said, "What a pity that 
this anecdote is not true ! Only imagine the scene — the offended dignity 
of Cambaceres, the merriment of the whole council, and the embarrassment 
of poor Maria Louisa, alarmed at the success of her unconscious joke !" The 
conversation was thus prolonged until near midnight, when the Emperor re- 
tired in a very cheerful mood. 

April 30. The rain fell in floods, and the Emperor did not leave his room. 
In an undress, he spent the day reading upon his sofa. The governor called 
and was admitted. The Emperor was undressed, and was unable to rise 
fr'om his couch. In a long conversation, Napoleon spoke of protesting against 
the treaty of the second of August, in which the allied sovereigns declared 
him an exile and a prisoner. 

""VYhat right," said he, "have these sovereig-ns to dispose of me without 
my consent ? Had I tliought proper to withdraw to Russia, Alexander, who 
styled himself my friend, and who never had any but political disputes with 
me, would, if he had not upheld me as king, at least have treated me as one. 
Had I thought to take refuge in Austria, the Emperor Francis could not, 
without disgracing himself, have denied me not only his empire, but even his 
house and his family, of which I was a member. Lastly, if, relying on my 
own individual interests, I had persisted in defending them in France by force 
of arms, there is no doubt that the Allies would have formally granted me 
immense advantages, perhaps even dominion." 

The governor, after a little hesitation, said, "It is altogether probable that 
a sovereignty might have thus been easily obtained." 

"I did not wish it," continued the Emperor. "I determined on aban- 
doning public affairs ; indignant at beholding the leading men in France be- 
traying their country, or, at least, committing the grossest eiTors with regard 
to her interests ; indignant at finding that the mass of the representatives 
preferred disgrace to death, and stooped to barter with that sacred independ- 
ence, which, like honor, should be a rocky and inaccessible island. In this 
state of things, what did I determine on ? What resolution did I adopt ? 
I sought an asylum in a country which was supposed to be governed by 



172 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [CHAr. XL 

laws, among a people of whom for twenty years I had been the greatest en- 
emy. But what did you do ? Your conduct will not honor you in history. 
Yet there is an avenging Providence. Sooner or later you will meet your 
reward. It will not be long before your prosperity, your laws, will expiate 
your crime. 

" Your ministers, by their instructions, have sufficiently proved that they 
wish to get rid of me. AVhy did not the kings Avho proscribed me openly 
decree my death ? One act would have been as legal as the other. A 
speedy termination to my sufferings would have shown more energy than 
the lingering death to wdiich they have doomed me. The Calabrians have 
been more humane, more generous than the allied sovereigns or your min- 
isters.* I will not die by my own hands. That would be an act of cow- 
ardice. It is courageous and noble to triumph over misfortune. Each one 
is bound to fulrill his destiny ; but if it be intended to keep me in this im- 
prisonment, you will be doing me a kindness in depriving me of life, for here 
I daily suffer the agonies of death. This island is too small for me, who 
was every day accustomed to ride ten, fifteen, or twenty leagues on horse- 
back. The climate is not like ours. Neither the sun nor the seasons are 
like what we have been accustomed to. Every thing here is hostile to hap- 
piness and comfort. The situation is disagreeable and unwholesome. This 
part of the island is totally barren, and has been deserted by the inhabitants."' 

The governor stated that his instructions required that the Emperor should 
be restricted to certain limits in his rides, and that an officer should always 
accompany him. 

" If they had been thus observed,'' replied the Emperor, " I should never 
have left my chamber. If your instructions will not admit of greater lati- 
tude, you can henceforth do nothing for us. However, I neither ask nor 
wish for any thing. Convey these sentiments to the English government." 

" This," replied the governor, "is the consequence of transmitting instiiic- 
tions from so great a distance, and with regard to a person of Avhom those 
who draw up the instructions know so little. But on the arrival of the new 
wooden house, which is now on its way to St. Helena, better plans may, per- 
haps, be adopted. The vessel which is expected is bringing furniture and 
stores of provisions, which it was supposed would be agreeable. The En- 
glish government is making every exertion to render your situation com- 
fortable." 

"All their efforts," said the Emperor, "amount to but little. I have re- 
quested to be furnished with the Morning Chronicle and the Statesman,! that 
I might read what relates to myself in the least disagreeable forms ; but my 
request has never been complied with. I have asked for books, which are 
my only consolation ; but nine months have passed away, and I have not re- 
ceived any. I have desired to obtain intelligence of my wife and son, but 
this has been withheld from me. 

" As to the provisions, the faniiture, and the house that are intended for 

* This has reference to the execution of Murat. 

t London papers which were opposed to the British ministry. 



1816, April.l RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 173 

me, you and I, sir, are soldiers ; we appreciate those things at their true value. 
You have been in my native city, perhaps in the very house occupied by my 
family. Though it was not the worst upon the island — though I have no 
reason to be ashamed of my family circumstances, yet you know what they 
were. But, though I have occupied a throne, and have disposed of crowns, 
I have not forgotten my first condition. My couch and my camp bed, you 
nee, are still sufficient for me." 




THE BIETH-HOUSE OF NAPOLEON. 



"Still," the governor observed, "the wooden palace and its accompani- 
ments are, at least, not. to be disregarded." 

"Probably not," replied the Emperor, "for your own satisfaction in the 
eyes of Europe, but to me they are matters of perfect indifference. It is 
not a house, nor furniture, that should have been sent to me, but an execu- 
tioner and a coffin. The former are a mockery, the latter would be a favor. 
I say again, the instructions of your ministers tend to this result, and I in- 
voke it. The admiral, who is not an ill-disposed man, appears to me now to 
liave softened these instructions. I do not complain of his acts. His forms 
alone offended me." 

" Have I," inquired the governor, " unconsciously committed any faults ?" 

" No sir," said the Emperor ; "we complain of nothing since your arrival. 
Yet one act has offended us, and that is your inspection of our domestics. 
It was insulting to M. de Montholon, by appearing to throw a suspicion on 
his integrity ; and it was petty, disagreeable, and insulting toward me, and, 
perhaps, degrading to the English general himself, who thus came to inter- 
fere between me and my valet de chambre." 

As the Emperor related the incidents of this interview to Las Casas, he 
said, " The governor Avas seated in an arm-chair on one side of me ; I re- 



174 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ClIAP. XII. 

luained reclining upon the sofa. It was dark ; the evening was drawing in, 
and it was not easj to distinguish objects, therefore it was in vain that I 
endeavored to watch the phay of his features, and to observe the impression 
which mj words made on him." After a moment of silent reflection, he add- 
ed, " How mean and disagreeable is the expression of the governor's coun- 
tenance ! I never saw any thing like it in my life. I should be unable to 
drink my coffee if this man were beside me. My dear Las Casas, they have 
sent me worse than a jailer." 



CHAPTER XII. 

1816, May. 

The Achievements of the Emperor — Inhumanity of the Governor — Conversation with Dr. O'Meara 
— Parallel between the Revolutions of France and England — The Emigrants — Concurrence of 
happy Circumstances in the Emperor's Career — The Spanish Bourbons — Arrival of the wooden 
Palace — The Iliad^Characteristic Remarks — Hoche and other Generals. 

Jfai/ 1. The Emperor still confined himself to his room. About seven 
o'clock in the evening he sent for Las Casas. He had been reading Gold- 
smith's mutilated collection of his proclamations and speeches. Laying down 
the book, he said, in calm and serious tones, 

" After all, let them abridge, suppress, and mutilate as much as they please, 
they will find it very difficult to throw me entirely into the shade. The 
historian of France can not pass over the Empire, and, if he have any hon- 
esty, he will not fail to render me my share of justice. His task wiU be 
easy, for the facts speak of themselves ; they shine like the sun. 

" I closed the gulf of anarchy and cleared the chaos. I purified the Rev- 
olution, ennobled the people, and established kings. I excited every kind 
of emulation, rewarded every kind of merit, and extended the limits of glory. 
This is, at least, something. And on what point can I be assailed on which 
a historian could not defend me ? Can it be for my intentions ? But even 
here I find absolution. Can it be for my despotism ? It may be demon- 
strated that the dictatorship was absolutely necessary. WiU it be said that 
I restrained liberty ? It can be proved that licentiousness, anarchy, and the 
greatest irregularities still haimted the threshold of freedom. Shall I be ac- 
cused of having been too fond of war ? It can be sho^vii that I always re- 
ceived the first attack. Will it be said tliat I aimed at universal monarchy ? 
It can be proved that this was merely the result of fortuitous circumstances, 
and that our enemies themselves led me, step by step, to this determination. 
Lastly, shall I be blamed for my ambition ? This passion I must doubtless 
be allowed to have possessed, and that in no small degTce ; but, at the same 
time, my ambition Avas of tlie liighest and noblest kind that, perhaps, ever 
existed — that of establishing and consecrating the empire of reason, and the 
full exercise and the complete enjoyment of all the human faculties. And 
here the historian will probably feel compelled to regret that such ambition 
should not have been fulfilled and gratified. This is my whole history in a 
few words." 



1816, May.] ~ " RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. I75 

May 2. For four days the Emperor had now not left his room. He com- 
plained of great debility, and said that his legs refused to support him. He 
endeavored to walk a few times up and down his chamber, but was so much 
fatigued that he threw himself upon his bed. He spent much of the day 
reading from the libelist Goldsmith and from the historical Moniteur the rec- 
ords of his past career. 

"It is certainly," said he to Las Casas, " a very remarkable circumstance, 
and one of which few besides myself can boast, that I made my way through 
the Revolution at so early an age, and with so much notoriety, without hav- 
ing to dread the Moniteur. There is not a sentence in it which I could wish 
to obliterate. On the contrary, the Moniteur will infallibly serve me as a 
justification whenever I may have occasion for it." 

May 3. Another day of languor and dejection dawned darkly upon the 
Emperor. He said to Las Casas that he felt melancholy and restless ; that 
the days seemed long, and the nights still longer. Sir Hudson Lowe came 
to Longwood, apparently greatly alarmed lest the Emperor had escaped. He 
walked around the house several times, inquired of Dr. O'Meara very particu- 
larly respecting the captive, and laid the plan of a ditch to be dug around the 
house, as he said, to prevent the cattle from trespassing. 

May 4. This was the sixth day of the Emperor's seclusion. He had ex- 
pressed the intention of riding out, about four o'clock, on horseback. Rain, 
however, prevented. Sir Hudson Lt)we again drove up to Longwood in great 
trouble. 

"He went," says Dr. O'Meara, "to see Count Bertrand, with whom he 
had an hour's conversation, which did not appear to be of a nature very pleas- 
ing to him, as, on his retiring, he mounted his horse muttering something, 
and evidently out of humor. Shortly afterward, I learned the purport of his 
visit. He commenced by saying that the French made a great many com- 
plaints without any reason ; that, considering their situations, they were well 
treated, and ought to be thankful instead of making any complaints ; that he 
was determined to assure himself of General Bonaparte's actual presence daily 
by the observation of an officer appointed by him, and that this officer should 
visit him at fixed hours for such purpose. During the whole conversation, 
he spoke in a very authoritative, and, indeed, contemptuous manner, frequent- 
ly referring to the great powers with which he was invested." 

Immediately after this interview, the grand marshal called and reported the 
conversation to the Emperor. At eight o'clock in the evening, the Emperor 
sent for Las Casas to dine with him. 

" The governor," said the Emperor, " has called on the grand marshal, and 
remained with him more than an hour. His conversation was disagreeable 
and sometimes even offensive. He spoke on a variety of topics in a tone of 
ill-humor and disrespect, reproaching us particularly with being loud and un- 
reasonable in our complaints. He maintained that we were well provided 
for, and ought to be contented, and that we seemed to be strangely mistaken 
with regard to what was due to our persons and situations. He added, at 
least so he was understood, that he was desirous of being assured every day, 
by ocular testimony, of the existence and presence of the Emperor." 



17G NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XII." 

" Several clays," says Las Casas, "had passed away without the governor 
liaving been able to receive any report from liis otiicer or spies, as the Em- 
peror had not gone out, and no one had been admitted to his presence. But 
Avhat measures would the governor adopt ? This consideration occupied us 
all in turn. The Emperor would never submit, even at the peril of his life, 
to a regndar visit, which miglit be capriciously renewed at any hour of the 
day or niglit. Would the governor employ forge or violence to dispute with 
the Emperor a few hours of repose, and a last asylum of a few feet in cir- 
cumference ? His instructions must have been drawn up in anticipation of 
the case that had now occurred. No outrage, no want of respect, or act of 
barbarity could surprise me.* 

A[ay 5. For a week the Emperor had not left his chamber ; he was lan- 
guid and depressed ; sick both in body and in mind. Tlie communication 
of Sir Hudson Lowe of his determination to have, every day, ocular evidence 
of the presence of his captive, annoyed the Emperor excessively, and he had 
no heart to go out or to meet his friends. About nine o'clock in the morn- 
ing he sent for Dr. O'Meara. 

" I was introduced," says the doctor, " by the back door into his bed-room. 
It was fourteen feet by twelve, and ten or eleven feet in height. The walls 
were lined Avith brown nankeen ; two small windows looked out toward the 
camp of the 53d regiment ; one of them Avas throAvn up, and flistened by a 
piece of notched Avood ; AvindoAV curtains of Avhitc long-cloth ; a small fire- 
place, a sha])by grate, and fire-irons to match, Avith a paltry mantle-piece of 
wood painted AA'hite, upon AAdiich stood a small marble bust of his son. Above 
the mantle-piece hung the portrait of JVIaria Louisa, and four or fi\'e of young 
Najjoleon, one of Avhich Avas embroidered by the hands of the mother. A lit- 
tle more to the right hung also a miniature picture of the Empress Jose- 
phine, and to the left Avas suspended the alarm chamber- Avatch of Frederick 
the Great, obtained by Napoleon at Potsdam ; on the right hung the con- 
sular Avatch, engraA'ed with the cipher B, hung by a chain of the plaited hair 
of Maria Louisa, from a pin stuck in the nankeen lining. The floor Avas coa'- 
ered Avith a second-hand carpet, AAdiich had once decorated the dining-room 
of a lieutenant of the St. Helena artillery ; in the right-hand corner AA'as 
placed the little plain iron camp bedstead, Avith green silk curtains, upon AA'hich 
its master had reposed on the fields of Marengo and Austcrlitz. BetAA'een the 

* Sir Hudson Lowe, in hi.s official account of this interview with General Bertrand, says : 

" The result was the esta])lishmcnt of three points, which had been either before not sufficiently 
specific, or had fallen into partial disuse. 

" L The necessity of General Bonaparte showing himself twice a day, morning and evening, or 
giving, by some other means, certain indications of his actual presence at the house. 

" 2. The prohibition of communication with merchants, shopkeepers, and tradesmen, except 
through the medium of a third person. 

"3. The prevention of any stranger seeing him except with the governor's previous authority. 

" Sir George Cockburn, after my conference, told inc he had suHered General Bertrand to give 
passports, but considered himself as guarded from any ill consequences by the officer of the guard 
being compelled to report every person who passed, and send the passport to him. I was not aware 
of General Bcrtrand's authority having extended to any thing more than the invitations to dinner, 
when I entered upon the conversation with him ; but have not, on such account, regretted the pre- 
cise line now established l>v mv conversation with him." 



1816, May.] 



RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



177 



windows there was a paltry second-hand chest of drawers ; an old hook-case, 
with green blinds, stood on the left of the door leading to the next apart- 
ment. Four or iive cane-bottomed chairs, painted green, were standing here 
and there about the room. Before the back door there was a screen covered 
with nankeen, and between that and the lire-place an old-fashioned sofa cov- 
ered with white long-cloth. 

" Napoleon reclined upon the sofa clothed in his white morning-gown, 
white loose stockings and trowsers all in one. A checkered red Madras 
handkerchief was bound around his head, and his shirt collar open, without 
a cravat. His air was melancholy and troubled. Before him stood a little 
round table, with some books, at the foot of which lay, in confusion upon 
the carpet, a heap of those which he had already perused. In front of the 
fire-place stood Las Casas, with his arms folded over his breast, and some 
papers in one of his hands. Of all the former magnificence of the once 
mighty Emperor of France, nothing was present except a superb wash-hand- 
sland, containing a silver basin, and water-jug of the same metal, in the 
left-hand corner." 




J^fAPOLEON S APARTMENT AT LONGWOOD 



"You know," said Napoleon, "that it was in consequence of my applica- 
tion that you were appointed to attend upon me. Now I wish to know from 
you, precisely and truly, as a man of honor, in what situation you conceive 
yourself to be ; whether as my surgeon, as M. Maingaud was, or the surgeon 
of a prison-ship and prisoners. Whether you have orders to report every 
trifling occurrence or illness, or what I say to you, to the governor. An- 
swer me candidly." 

"As your surgeon," O'Meara replied, "and to attend upon you and your 
suite. I have received no other orders than to make an immediate report in 
case of your being taken seriously ill, in order to have promptly the advice 
and assistance of other physicians." 

M 



178 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XII. 

" First obtaining my consent to call in others," demanded the Emperor ; 
"is it not so?" 

" I should certainly," O'Mcara answered, "first obtain your consent." 

"If you were appointed," continued the Emperor, "as surgeon to a pris- 
on, and to report my conversation to the governor, whom I take to be the 
liead of the spies, I would never see you again. Do not suppose that I take 
you for a spy. On the contrary, I have never had the least occasion to lind 
fault with you ; and I have an esteem for you, and a friendship for your 
character, a greater proof of whicli I could not give you than by asking you 
candidly your own opinion of your situation, as you, being an Englishman, 
and paid by the English government, might, perhaps, be obliged to do what 
I have asked." 

Dr. 0']\leara replied that in his professional capacity he did not consider 
himself as belonging to any country. 

" If I am taken seriously ill, then," continued the Emperor, " acquaint me 
with your opinion, and ask my consent to call in others. This governor, 
during the few days that I was melancholy, and had a mental affliction in 
consequence of the treatment I receive, which prevented me from going out, 
that I might not weary others with my afflictions, wanted to send his phy- 
sician to me, under the pretext of inquiring after my health. I desired Bcr- 
trand to inform him that I had not sufficient confidence in his physician to 
take any thing from his hands ; tliat, if I were really ill, I would send for 
you, in wliom I have confidence, and that I only wished to be left alone. 
I understand that he proposed that an officer should enter my chamber if I 
did not go out. Any person," the Enqieror continued, with much emotion, 
" who endeavors to force his Avay into my apartment, shall be a corpse the 
moment he enters it. If he ever eats bread or meat again, I am not Napo- 
leon. This I am determined on. I know that I shall be killed afterward, 
as what can one do against a camp f I have faced death too many times to 

fear it. I am convinced that this governor has been sent out by Lord .* 

I told him, a few days ago, that if he wanted to put an end to me, he could 
have a very good opportunity by sending somebody to force his Avay into my 
chamber ; that I would immediately make a corpse of the first that entered, 
and then I should be, of course, dispatched, and he might write home to his 
government that '■ BonajKirte^ was killed in a brawl. I also told him to leave 
me alone, and not to torment me with his hateful presence. I have seen 
Prussians, Tartars, Cossacks, Calmucks, but never before in my life have I 
beheld so ill-fivored and so forbidding a countenance. He carries the de- 
mon impressed upon his face." 

" I endeavored," says O'Meara, " to convince him that the English min- 
istry could never be capable of what he supposed, and that such was not the 
character of the nation." 

" I had reason," the Emperor continued, " to complain of the admiral, but, 
though he treated me roughly, he never behaved in such a manner as this 
Prussian. A few days ago he insisted upon seeing me, when I Avas undress- 
* O'Meara leaves a blank. It was doubtless Lord Bathurst. 



181G, May.] 



RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



179 




INTERVIEW WITH SIR HUDSON LOWE. 



ed in my chamber, and a prey to melanclioly. The admiral never asked to 
see me a second time when it was intimated to him that I was unwell or un- 
dressed. He knew that, although I did not go out, I was still to be found." 

After O'Meara had withdrawn, the Emperor took a short ride on horseback, 
and called at Hut's Gate. He returned much fatigued, and his friends ob- 
served, with great solicitude, the evident change in his health. He undress- 
ed, threw himself upon the sofa, and had a tire kindled in his room. Las 
Casas and General Bertrand sat by his side. The evening had now come. 
No candles were brought into the room, and by the glimmer of the fire alone 
the weary exiles endeavored to beguile the hours with conversation. The 
two gTcat revolutions of England and France became the topics of discourse. 

" There are many points, both of resemblance and diiference," said the 
Emperor, "between these two great events. They afford inexhaustible sub- 
jects for reflection. Both in France and England the storm gathered during 
the two feeble and indolent reigns of James I. and Louis XV., and burst 
over the heads of the unfortunate Charles I. and Louis XVI. Both these 
sovereigns fell victims. Both perished on the scaffold, and their families 
were proscribed and banished. Both monarchies became republics, and, dur- 



180 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ClIAP. XII. 

ing that period, both nations plunged into every excess which can degrade 
the human heart and understanding. They were disgraced by scenes of 
madness, blood, and outrage. Every tie of humanity was broken, and ev- 
ery principle overturned. 

"Both in England and France, at this period, two men \-igorously stemmed 
the torrent and reigned witli splendor. After these, the two hereditary tam- 
ilies were' restored, but both pursued an erroneous course. They committed 
faults. A fresh storm suddenly burst forth in both countries, and expelled 
the two restored dynasties, without their being able to offer the least resist- 
ance to the adversaries who overthrew thenio 

"In this singular parallel, Napoleon appears to have been in France at 
once the Cromwell and the William III. of England ; but as every compari- 
son with Cromwell is in some degree odious, I must add that, if these two 
celebrated men coincided in one single circumstance of their lives, it was 
scarce possible for two beings to differ more in every other point. Cromwell 
appeared on the theatre of the world at tlie age of maturity. He attained 
supreme rank only by dint of address, duplicity, and hypocrisy. Napoleon 
distinguished himself at the very daAvn of iTlanhood, and his first steps Averc 
attended by the purest glory. Cromwell obtained supreme ])Owcr opposed 
and hated by all parties, and by fixing an everla.'^thig stain on the English 
Revolution. Napoleon, on the contrary, ascended the throne by obliterating 
the stains of the French Revolution, and through the concun-ence of all par- 
tics, who, in turn, sought to gain him as their chief All the glory of Crom- 
well was bought by English blood. His triumphs were all so many causes 
of national mourning, but Napoleon's victories were gained over the foreign 
foe, and they filled the French nation Avith transport. Finally, the death of 
Cromwell was a source of joy to all England. The event was regarded as a 
public deliverance. The same can not exactly be said of Napoleon's fall. 

"In England, the Revolution Avas the rising of the Avhole nation against the 
king. The king had violated the laws and usurped absolute power, and the 
nation Avished to resume her riglits. In France, the Revolution Avas the 
rising of one portion of the nation against another — that of the third estate 
against the nobilitA". It Avas tlie reaction of the Gauls ao-ainst the Franks. 
The king Avas attacked, not so nnich in his character of monarch as in his 
quality of chief of the feudal system. He Avas not reproached Avith having 
violated the laAvs, but the nation Avished to emancipate and reconstitute it- 
self. In l^^ngland, if Charles I. had yielded A^ohmtarily, if he had possessed 
the moderate and undecided character of Louis XVI., he Avould liaA'e sur- 
vived. In France, on the contrary, if Louis XVI. had openly resisted, if he 
had had the courage, activity, and ardor of Charles I., he Avould ha\"e tri- 
umplied. 

" During the Avhole conflict, Charles I., isolated in his kingdom, Avas sur- 
rounded only by partisans and friends, and Avas never connected Avith any 
constitutional branch of his subjects. Louis XA I. Avas supported by a reg- 
ular army, by foreign aid, and by two constitutional portions of the nation 
— the nobility and the clergy ; besides, there remained to Loui.3 XA'I. a sec- 



1816, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 181 

ond decisive resolution wliicli Charles I. had it not in his power to adopt, 
namely, that of ceasing to he 2, feudal chief wx order to become a national 
chief. Unfortunately, he could not decide on either the one or the other. 
Charles I., therefore, perished because he resisted ; Louis XVI. perished be- 
cause he did not resist. The one had a perfect conviction of the privileges 
of his prerogative, but it is doubtful whether the other had any such convic- 
tion, any more than he felt the necessity of exercising its privileges. In 
England, the death of Charles I. was the result of the artful and atrocious 
ambition of a single man. In France, it was the work of the blind multitude 
— of a disorderly popular assembly. In England, the representatives of the 
people evinced a slight shade of decorum by abstaining from being the judges 
and actors in the murder which they decreed : they appointed a tribunal to 
try the king. In France, the representatives of the people presumed to be 
at once the accusers, judges, and executioners. In England, the affair was 
managed by an invisible hand : it assumed an appearance of reflection and 
calmness. In I ranee it was managed by the multitude, whose fury was with- 
out bounds. In England, the death of the king gave birth to the republic. 
In France, on the contrary, the birth of the republic caused the death of the 
king. In England, the political explosion was produced by the most ardent 
religious fanaticism. In France it was brought about amid the acclamations 
of cynical impiety ; each according to its age and manners. 

"The English Revolution was ushered in by the excesses of the gloomy 
school of Calvin. In France, the loose doctrines of the modern school con- 
jured up the storm. In England, the Revolution was mingled with civil war. 
In France, it was attended by foreign wars ; and to the efforts and hostility 
of foreigners the French justly attribute their excesses. The English can 
advance no such excuse for theirs. In England, the army proved itself ca- 
pable of every act of outrage and fury : it was the scourge of the citizens. 
In France, on the contrary, we owed every benefit to the army ; its triumphs 
abroad either diminished or caused us to forget our horrors at home. The 
army secured independence and glory to France. In England, the Restora- 
tion was the work of the English people, who hailed the event with the most 
lively enthusiasm. The nation escaped slavery and seemed to have recov- 
ered freedom. In France, on the contrary, the Restoration was the work of 
. foreign powers. It carried humiliation and despair to the souls of the French. 
The nation saw its glory tarnished, and all were plunged into slavery. In 
England, a son-in-law hurled his father-in-law from the throne. He was sup- 
ported by all Europe, and the memory of the act is revered and imperishable. 
In France, on the contrary, the chosen sovereign of the people, who had reign- 
ed for the space of fifteen years with the asseftt of his subjects and foreign- 
ers, reappeared on the theatre of the world to seize a sceptre which he re- 
garded as his own. Europe rose in a mass and outlawed him. One million 
one hundred thousand men marched against hira. He surrendered. He 
was thrown into captivity ; and now efforts are made to tarnish the lustre 
of his memory. " , 

May 6. The Emperor, at nine o'clock in the morning, sent for Las Casas. 



182 



NAPOLEON AT ST HELENA. 



[Chap. XII. 




THE RETURN OF THE BOUUBONS. 



lie was sorely annoyed by the threat of the governor to violate his last hum- 
ble sanctuary. He preferred death rather than to submit to this insult. 
"They are determined," said he, "to bring about my death, and only seek 
a plausible pretense. I am resolved not to evade it. I am prepared for 
every thing. They will kill me, it is certain." 

Again he sent for Dr. O'Meara, and questioned him particularly respecting 
his position. 

"Are you," said he, "my surgeon, or the surgeon of a galley; and are 
you expected to report what you observe and hear ? All that I wish is, that 
you should act the part of a gentleman— as you would do were you surgeon 
to Lord St. Vincent. I do not mean to bind you to silence, or to prevent 
you from repeating any idle chat you may hear me say ; but I w'ish to pre- 
vent you from allowing yourself to be cajoled, or made a spy of, unintention- 
ally on your part, by this governor. After your duty to your God, your 
next duty is to be paid to your own country and sovereign, and then to your 
patients. 

"During the short interview that this governor had with me in my bed- 
chamber, one of the first things which he proposed was to send you away 
and take his own surgeon in your place. This he repeated twice ; and so 
earnest was he to gain his object, that, althougli I gave him a most decided 
refusal, when lie was going out he turned about and again proposed it. I 



1816, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 183 

never saw such a horrid countenance. He sat on a chair opposite to my 
sofa, and on the little table between us there was a cup of coffee. His 
physiognomy made such an unfavorable impression upon me, that I thought 
]iis looks had poisoned it, and I ordered Marchand to throw it out of the 
window. I could not have SAvallowed it for the world." 

Dr. O'Meara assured the Emperor that he would regulate his conduct with 
respect to conversations by the rules which existed to that effect among gen- 
tlemen, and as he would do were he attached in a similar capacity to an 
English nobleman. 

General Gourgaud then came in, and the Emperor, for a few hours, found 
the oblivion of present griefs in dictating the events of the fierce strife of the 
campaign of Waterloo. About three o'clock the Emperor walked out into 
the garden with Las Casas. The conversation turned upon the emigrants. 
Las Casas was one of the nobles who had fled from France to escape the hor- 
rors of the Revolution, and who had returned under the protection which 
Napoleon nobly extended to this proscribed class. 

"Were you not," said the Emperor, "shocked at the word amnesty T^ 

"No, sire,"' Las Casas replied; "we knew all the difficulties which the 
First Consul had experienced in this respect. We knew that all the advant- 
ages of the measure were due to him ; that he alone was our protector, and 
that every evil originated with those with whom he had been obliged to con- 
tend in our favor. Subsequently, on our return to France, we found indeed 
that the consul might have treated us better with respect to our property, 
and this v/ithout much difficulty, merely by assuming a silent and passive 
attitude. This, we conceived, would have sufficed in every case to have pro- 
duced amicable arrangements between the old proprietors and the purchas- 
ers." ■ . 

" Doubtless I might have done so," said the Emperor ; " but could I have 
trusted sufficiently to the emigrants? Answer me this question." 

"Sire," Las Casas replied, "noAV that I have more knowledge of public 
affairs, and take a more comprehensive view of things, I can readily conceive 
that policy required you to act as you did. Recent circumstances have proved 
how wise was the course you pursued. It would have been bad policy thus 
to disinterest the nation. The question of national property is one of the first 
bulwarks of public spirit and of the national party." 

" You are right," observed the Emperor. " But I might nevertheless have 
granted all that was wished. For a moment I cherished the idea of doing 
so, and I committed a fault in not fulfilling this idea. I intended to form a 
mass or a syndicate of all the unsold property of the emigrants, and, on their 
return, to distribute it in certain proportions among them. But, when I came 
to grant property to individuals, I soon found that I was creating too many 
wealthy men, and that they repaid my favors with insolence. Those who, 
by dint of petitioning and cringing, had perhaps obtained an annual income 
of from twenty-five to fifty thousand dollars, no longer lifted their hats to me.. 
Far from evincing the least gratitude, they had the impertinence to pretend 
that they had paid, in an underhand way, for the favors they enjoyed. This 



184 



K.VrOl.KON AT ST HKl.KNA, 



[CllAI'. Ml, 




TIIK Ktri UNKll KMUiKANI'. 

was tho ooiulrot ofilio whole b^anbonvii' St. (un-inain. 1 vr^taivil tlio lortuiu-s 
of tlioscivoplo, ami thov still iviuaiuod no loss liostilo ami anti-uarioual. 

"Thou, m^twithstamlinj;- tho aot ot'ainnosty. I pvohibitod tho vostitntion ot" 
tho unsoUl t'orosts whonovor thov should oxoood a oovtain vahio. This was 
doubtloss an aot of injustice aeeording" to tho letter o( the law, Init |H>liey ini- 
peviously called tor it. The fault was in tho drawiiie; up oi' the law, and the 
iujprovidcnco ■which dictated it. This reaction on my pe.rt couuteraeted all 
the gi>od otfects of the reeall of the emiorauts, and robbed me of the attach- 
ment of all the groat families. 1 mitiht hate guarded against this evil, or 1 
might have neutrali/.cd its ctVocts by my .vy^/ (//<'(?/<■. For one givat familv 
rdieuated, 1 might have seeuivd the attaehment of a hundred proviueial no- 
bles : and thus 1 shoidd, in ivality, have strietly eontbrmed with justice, which 
iV(|ui)-ed that the emigrants, who had all run the same risk, embarked their 
tbrtnnes in common on board the sauie ship, sutiennl the same -Nvi-eek, and in- 
eunvd the same ]vnalty. should all receive the same indennutieation. Here 
I committed an error, whioh was the more \inpardonablo, as l entertained an 
idea of the ]ilau which 1 have just mentioned: but I stood alone, and was 
surrounded by opposition and dithculty. All parties were hostile to tho emi- 
gmnts : and, meanwhile, I was pivssed by important atfairs : time was run- 
ning on, and I was compelled to dinvt my attention to other matters, Kven 
so late as my return from l^lba, 1 was on the point of executing a projeot ot' 



1816, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONG WOOD. l^rj 

the same sort. If I had had time, I should have taken into consideration the 
case of the poor emigrants from the provinces, who were neglected hy the 
court. It is rather a singular circumstance that tliis idea was suggested to 
me by an old ex-minister of Louis XVI., whose services had been but ill re- 
quited by the princes, and Avho pointed out to me the various plans by which 
evils of tiie same kind might have been advantageously remedied." 

" Sire," said Las Casas, " the reasonable portion of the emigrants well 
knew tJiat the ihw generous and liberal ideas tliat wei*e cherished with respect 
to them originated only with you. They were aware that all who surround- 
ed you wislicd for their destruction. They knew that the very idea of no- 
bility was hateful to them, and they gave you credit for not being of that 
opinion. 

" The great mass of tlie emigrants," continued Las Casas, "were far from 
being unjust to your majesty. The sensible part of the old aristocracy dis- 
liked you, it is true, but only because you proved an obstacle to their views ; 
they knew how to appreciate your achievements and your talents, which they 
admired in spite of tlieir inclination. Even the fanatics acknowledged that 
you liad but one fault: ^W//y is he not legitimate f they were frequently 
lien I'd to say. Austcrlitz staggered us, thougli it did not subdue us; but 
Tilsit prostrated every tln'ng. Your majesty nn'ght yourself have judged of 
this, and have enjoyed, on }'our return, the unanimity of homage, acclamation, 
and good wishes." 

" That is to say," observed the Emperor, smiUng, " that if, at that time, J 
could or would have indulged in repose and pleasure; if I had resigned my- 
self to indoleiu!e; if everything had resumed its old course, you would have 
a(h)V(>d me. Jiut if such had been my taste and inclination, and certainly 
nolliing was more o])posite to my natural disposition, circumstances would 
not have permitted me to act as I pleased." 

I'lie tiu'u of conversation then l(;d the I^hnperor to observe that he had fre- 
quently reflected on the singular occurrence of secondary circumstances which 
had l)rouglit about liis Avoiulcrful career. 

"• 1. If my iather," said he, "who died before he had attained the age of 
forty, had survived some time longer, he would have been appointed deputy 
from tlie Corsican nobility to the Constituent Assembly ; he was much at- 
taclicd to the nobility and tlio aristocracy, and, on the other hand, he Avas a 
warm partisan of generous and liberal ideas. He would therefore have been 
either entirely on the right side, or at least in the minority of the nobility ; at 
any rate, whatever miglit have been my own personal opinions, I should have 
followed my father's footste])s, and thus my career would luxve been entirely 
deranged and lost. 

" 2. If I had been older at the time of the Revolution, I should perhaps 
myself have been appointed deputy. Being of an enthusiastic disposition, 1 
should infallibly have adopted some opinion, and ardently followed it up : 
but, at all events, I should have shut myself out from the military service, 
and thus again my career would have been changed. 

" 3. Had my family been better known, more wealthy, or more distin- 



186 



NAPOLEON AT ST HEL.EXA 



[CllAP. XIL 




rOKTRVlT OK CIIAKLES BOXAPAR f E, TH E FATHER OF NATOLEON. 



guishou, my rank of nobility, even though T had followcil the couvpc of tlie 
Hevohition, mouU have annulled and proscribed me : 1 could never have ob- 
tained confidence ; I coiild never have commanded an army : or, if I had at- 
tained such a connnand, I could not have ventured to do all that I did. Had 
my family circumstances been ditfcrcnt from what they really were, I could 
not, with all my success, have followed the bent of my liberal ideas with re- 
gard to the priests and the nobles, and I should never have arrived at the 
head of government. 

" 4. The number of my sisters and brothers is also a circumstance which 
proveil of great use to mc, by multiplying my connections and means of in- 
tluence. 

" 5. ]\Iy mamage with Madam Beauharnais placed rae on a point of con- 
tact with a party whose aid was necessary in my system of amalgamations, 
which was one of the chief principles of my govcrmnent, and that by Avhich 
it was especially characterized. But for my wife, I should not have obtained 
any natural connection Avith this party. 

" 6. Even my foreign origin, though in France an endeavor was made to 
raise an outcry against it, was not unattended with advantage. The Italians 
regardoil me as their countryman, and this circumstance greatlv facilitated mv 



1816, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGVv'OOD. 187 

success in Italy. This success Ibeing once obtained, inquiries were set on 
foot respecting our ftimily lii.-.torj, which had long been buried in obscurity. 
My family was acknowledged by the Italians to have acted a distinguished 
])art in the events of their country ; it was viewed by them as an Italian fam- 
ily. Thus, when the question of my sister Pauline's marriage with the Prince 
llorghese was agitated, there was but one voice in Home and Tuscany among 
the members of that family and their adherents. ' Well,' said they, ' the 
union is among ourselves; they are our own connections.' Subsequently, 
when it was proposed that the Emperor should be crowned by the Pope at 
Paris, great obstacles were, as circumstances have since proved, thrown in the 
Avay of that important event. The Austrian party in the conclave violently 
opposed the measure, but the Italian party decided in its favor by adding to 
political considerations a little consideration of national self-love. 'We are 
placing,' said they, 'an Italian family on the throne to govern these barbari- 
ans ; we shall thus be revenged on the Gauls.' 

"It is certain," continued the Emperor, "that Rome will afford a natural 
and favorable asylum for my family. There they may find themselves at 
home. Finally," added he, smiling, "even my name, Napoleon, which in 
Italy is uncommon, poetic, and sonorous, contributed its share in the great 
circumstances of my life." 

May 6. In continuation of the conversation, the Emperor adverted to the 
numerous difficulties with which he had been incessantly surrounded and 
controlled. Alluding to the Spanish war, he said, 

" That unlucky war ruined me. It divided my forces, obliged me to mul- 
tiply my efforts, and caused my principles to be assailed. And yet it was 
impossible to leave the Peninsula a prey to the machinations of the English, 
the intrigues, the hopes, and the pretensions of the Bourbons. Besides, the 
Spanish Bourbons were not calculated to inspire much fear. Nationally, 
they were foreign to us, and we to them. At the Castle Marrach and at Ba- 
yonne, I have known Charles IV. and the queen unable to distinguish be- 
tween Madam de Montmorency and ladies of the new nobility. The names 
of the latter were indeed rendered more familiar to them through the medium 
of the gazettes and public documents. The Empress Josephine, who had 
the most delicate tact on matters of this sort, never ceased alluding to the 
circumstance. The Spanish royal family implored me to adopt a daughter, 
and to create her a princess of the Asturias. They pointed out Mademoi- 
selle de Tascher, afterward Duchess of Aremberg. But I had personal rea- 
sons for objecting to this choice. For a moment I decided on Mademoiselle 
de la Bochefoucault, afterward Princess of Aldobrandini. But I wanted 
some one sincerely devoted to my interest ; a true Frenchwoman, possessing 
talent and information ; and I could not fix on one endowed with all the qual- 
ities I wished for." 

During the day a transport arrived from England, bringing the frame of a 
wooden house for the Emperor, and materials for its constraction. Even Sir 
Hudson Lowe deemed the wretched hut in which the Emperor was impris- 
oned totally unf^t for Iii.? occupancy. 



188 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [Chap. XIT. 

2£ay 7. The day was fine, but the Emperor, svifterhig from a lieadache, 
did not leave his room. About five o'clock "in the afternoon he sent for Las 
Casas. The subject of literature was introduced. The Emperor took up an 
edition of Homer, and read several cantos of the Iliad. 

" I greatly admire the Iliad," said he ; " it is like the books of Moses, the 
token and the pledge of the age in which it was produced. Homer, in his 
epic poem, has proved himself a poet, an orator, an historian, a legislator, a 
geographer, and a theologian. He may justly be called the encyclopedist of 
the period in which he flourished. I have never been so struck with the 
beauties of the Iliad as at this moment. The sensations with which it now 
inspires me fully convince me of the justice of the universal approbation be- 
stowed upon it. One thing which particularly strikes me is the combination 
of rudeness of manners with refinement of ideas. Heroes are described kill- 
ing animals for their food, cooking their meat with their own hands, and yet 
delivering speeches distinguished for singular eloquence, and denoting a high 
degree of civilization.*' 

The Emperor took his dinner alone in his room, and then sent for all his 
suite to join him. They remained engaged in conversation until ten o'clock. 

j\lL(nj 8. About four o'clock in the afternoon tlie Emperor rode out in his 
calash. He then received to an audience several English gentlemen, wdio had 
touched at the island on their voyage to China. After dinner, one of th(i 
Emperor's suite remarked that he had been painfully excited in the morning, 
when Avriting out a fair copy of his dictation on the battle of AVaterloo, to 
find that the result had depended, as it Avere, on a hair's breadth. The Em- 
peror Avas for a moment silent. Then turning to young Immanuel Las 
Casas, he said, in his usual mode of addressing him, but in tones expressive 
of deep emotion, 

" j\Iy son, go and get Iphigenia in Aulis. It will be a more pleasing sub- 
ject." 

He then read that beautiful drama to his companions. 

Itfay 9. The Emperor was describing the evils attendant upon weakness 
and credulity in a sovereign. "A sovereign," said he to Las Casas, "dis- 
tinguished for these qualities, must inevitably become the dupe of courtiers 
and the victim of calumny. Of this I will give you a proof. You yourself, 
who have sacrificed every thing to follow me — ^you, who have evinced sucli 
noble and affecting devotedness — how do you think that your conduct is 
viewed ? Hoav do you imagine that your character is estimated ? You are 
regarded merely as one of the old nobility, an emigrant, an agent of the 
Bourbons, maintaining correspondence witli the English. It is said that you 
concurred in betraying me to them, and that you followed me hither only to 
be a spy upon me, and to sell me to my enemies. The aversion and ani- 
mosity which you e\ance toward the governor are affirmed to be only false 
appearances, agreed upon betAveen you for the purpose of disguising your 
treachery. You may smile," continued he, "but I assure you that I am 
not iuA-enting ; I am merely echoing the reports that haA^e reached my ears. 
And can you imagine that a silly, feeble, and credulous being Avould not be 



1816, May.] residence at longwood. ]^g9 

influenced hy such stories and contrivances ? My dear Las Casas, if I had 
not been superior to the majority of legitimates, I might ah'eady have been 
deprived of your services here, and your upriglit heart would perhaps have 
been doomed to suflter the crael stings of ingratitude. How wretched is the 
lot of man ! He is th,e same every where, on the summit of a rock, or with- 
in the walls of a palace. Man is always man ! " 

May 10. It was a dark and rainy day. The Emperor, not being able to 
go out, walked for a time up and down the dining-room. He afterward or- 
dered a fire to be kindled in the drawing-room, and read to his companions 
the history of Joseph from the Bible. Afterward, in the course of conversa- 
tion, the name of Hoche was mentioned. Las Casas said that at a very ear- 
ly age he had inspired great hope. 




»NAl'>ji,£j.N AAD JluCHE. 



190 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ClL-VP. XII. 

"And wliat is still better," said tlie Emperor, "you may add that lie ful- 
filled that hope. We have seen each other, aud conversed together two or 
three times. I do. not hesitate to say that I possessed over lloche the ad- 
vantages of extensive information and the principles of a good education. 
There was, in other respects, a great diHerence betAvecn us. Iloche endeav- 
ored to raise a party for himself, and gained only servile adherents. For my 
part, I created for myself an immense number of partisans without in anj 
way seeking popularity. Iloche possessed a hostile, provoking kind of am- 
bition, lie was the sort of man who could conceive the idea of comino- from 
Strasburg with twenty-five thousand men to seize the reins of government 
by force ; but my policy was always of a patient kind, led on by the spirit 
of the age and the circumstances of the moment. Iloche would ultimately 
either have yielded to me, or he must have been subdued. As he was fond 
of money and pleasure, I doubt not that he would have yielded. 

" Moreau, in similar circumstances, knew not how to decide. I attached 
but little importance to him. 1 regarded him as totally wanting in ability, 
without, however, extending this opinion to his military talent. But he was 
a weaK man, guided by those who surrounded him, and slavishly subject to 
the control of his Avife. He was a general of the old monarchy. 

" Hoclie died suddenly, and under singular circumstances ; and as there 
existed a party who seemed to think that all crimes belonged to me of right, 
endeavors were made to circulate a report that I had poisoned him. There 
was a time Avhen no mischief could happen that was not imputed to me. 
Tims, when in Paris, I caused Kleber to be assassinated in Egypt ; I blew 
out Desaix's brains at jMarengo ; I strangled and cut the throats of persons 
Avho were confined in prisons ; I seized the Pope by the hair of his head ; 
and a hundred similar absurdities were affirmed. However, as I paid not the 
least attention to all this, the fashion passed away, and I do not see that my 
successors have been vcrv eatrer to revive it : and yet, if any of the crimes 
imputed to me had any real existence, the dot-aments, the perpetrators, and 
the accomplices might have been brought forward. Yet such is the influ- 
ence of report, that these stories, however absurd, were credited by the vul- 
gar, and are, perhaps, still believed by a numerous body of individuals. Hap- 
pily, the statements of the historian who reasons are divested of this pernicious 
effect. 

" What a nuniber of great generals rose suddenly during the Revolution ! 
Piehegru, Kleber, ^Massena, ]\larceau, Desaix, Hoche, and almost all, were 
originally private soldiers. But here the efforts of Nature seem to have been 
exhausted, for she has produced nothing since, or, at least, nothing so great. 
At that period, every thing was submitted to competition among thirty mill- 
ions of men, and Nature necessarily asserted her rights : subsecpiently, we were 
at2;ain confined within the narrower limits of order and the forms of society. 
I was even accused of having surrounded myself in civil and military posts 
with men of inferior ability, tlie better to display my own superiority; but 
now, when tlie competition will not certainly be renewed, it remains for those 
who are in power to make a better selection. We shall see what they will do. 



1316, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 191 

" Another circumstance no less remarkable was the extreme youth of som<' 
of those generals, who seem to have started ready-made from the hands of 
ISTature. Then characters were perfectly suited to the circumstances in which 
they were placed, with the exception of Hoche, whose morals were by no 
means pure. The others had no object in view save glory and patriotism, 
which formed their whole circle of rotation ; they were men after the antique 
model. Desaix was surnamed by the Arabs Sultan the Just. At the 
funeral of Marceau, the Austrians observed an armistice on account of tlie 
respect which they entertained for him ; and young Duphot was the emblem 
of perfect virtue. 

"But the same commendations can not be bestowed on those who were 
further advanced in life, for they belonged in some measure to the era that 
had just passed away. Massena, Augereau, Brune, and many others, were 
merely intrepid dej^redators. Massena was, moreover, distinguished for the 
most sordid avarice. It was asserted that I played him a trick which might 
have proved a hanging matter ; that, being one day indignant at his depreda- 
tions, I c^rew on his banker for five or six hundred thousand dollars. Great 
embarrassm-cnt ensued, for my name was not without its due weight. The 
banker wrote to intimate that he could not pay the sum without the author- 
ity of Massena ; on the other hand, he was urged to pay it without hesita- 
tion, as Massena, if he were wronged, could appeal to the courts of law for 
justice. Massena, however, resorted to no legal steps, and consoled himself 
as well as he could for the payment of the money. Such was the story. 

" Oudinot, Murat, and Ney were commonplace kind of generals, having 
no recommendation save personal coin-age. Moncey was an honest man. 
]\Iacdonald was distinguished for firm loyalty. Soult also had his faults as 
well as his merits. The whole of his campaign of the south of France was 
admirably conducted. It will scarcely be credited that this man, whose de- 
portment and manners denoted a lofty character, was the slave of his wife. 
When I learned, at Dresden, our defeat at Yittoria, and the loss of all Spain 
through the mismanagement of poor Joseph, whose plans and measures were 
not suited to the present age, and seemed rather to belong to a Soubise than 
to me, I looked about for some one capable of repairing these disasters, and 
cast my eyes on Soult, who was near me. He said that he was ready to 
undertake what I Avished, but entreated that I would speak to his wife, by 
whom, he said, he expected to be reproached. I desired him to send her to 
me. She assumed an air of hostility, and decidedly told me that her husband 
should certainly not return to Spfiiu ; that he had already performed import- 
ant services, and was now entitled to a little repose. 

" 'Madam,' said I to her, 'I did not send for you with the view of en- 
during your scolding. I am not your husband ; and if I were, I should not 
be the more inclined to bear with you.' 

" These few words confounded her, and she became pliant as a glove, turn- 
ed quite obsequious, and was only eager to obtain a few conditions. To these, 
however, I by no means acceded, and merely contented myself witli con- 
gratulating her on her willingness to listen to reason. ' In critical circum- 



132 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [CHAr. XIII. 

stances, madam,' said I, ' it is a wife's duty to endeavor to smooth difficul- 
ties. Go home to your husband, and do not torment him hj your opposi- 
tion."' 

The Beno-al fleet arrived. The Countess of Loudon and Moira, Avife of 
Earl Moira, the governor general of India, was among the passengers. 



CHAPTER XIIL 

1816, May. Continued. 



Ridiculous Invitation sent by Sir Hudson Lowe— Napoleon at the Institute — At the Council of 
State — On the Interior of Africa — The Marine Department — Decres — The Dictionary of Weath- 
ercocks — The Reception — Angry Interview with the (.Governor — Remarks of the Emperor on hi.-s 
Family. 

Ifai/ 11. As Las Casas, at four o'clock in the afternoon, was conversing 
with the Emperor, tlic grand marshal entered Avith a note. Napoleon glanced 
his eye over it, and, shrugging his shoulders, exclaimed, " This is too absurd. 
There is no answer. Give it to Las Casas."' 

The note was from the governor to the grand marshal, inviting General 
Bonajxirte to dine at Plantation House, to meet Lady Loudon. This note, 
though undoubtedly kindly intended, showed the blundering indelicacy of this 
soulless man. ^To address Napoleon as General Bonajmrte was insulting 
him with the declaration that he had been a usurper. He knew that his 
captive must expose himself to the degradation of being conducted to the din- 
ner-table and from it as a prisoner, under the guard of a British officer. The 
law Avas imperative that the Emperor could not pass beyond the very narroAV 
limits of his jail unless thus accompanied. He had declared that he would 
never subject himself to that ignominy. The grand marshal, in the follow- 
uig terms, acknoAvledgcd the receipt of the note : 

" Count Bertrand has the honor to present his compliments to General Sir 
Hudson Lowe, and to thank him for the trouble he has been pleased to take 
to inform him of the arrival in this island of the Countess Loudon. He Avill 
be happy to pay his respects to her. Count Bertrand has connnunicated the 
note of Sir Hudson to the Emperor, Avho has not made any reply to it." 

The Emperor, however, sent a verbal message to the countess, saying that 
it would have afforded him much satisfaction to pay his respects to her, if 
she had been Avithin his limits. He also sent some SAA'cetmeats for her chil- 
dren. 

The Emperor, Avliile Avalking in the garden Avith his friends, entered into 
a long and A-ery frank con\ersation respecting the CA'cnts of his life. Las 
Casas gives the following record of liis remarks : 

"AVhen I took my place," said he, "in the Institute, on my return from 
the army of Italy, I might consider myself as the tenth member of my class, 
Avliich consisted of about fifty. Lagrange, La Place, and Monge Avere at the 
head of this class. It Avas rather a remarkable circumstance, and one Avhich 
attracted considerable notice at the time, to see the young general of the 



1816, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 193 

army of Italy take his place in the Institute, and publicly discuss profound 
metaphysical subjects with his colleagues. He was then called the geome- 
trician of battles and the mechanician of victory." 

"On becoming First Consul," says Las Casas, "Napoleon caused no less 
sensation in the Council of State. He constantly presided at the sittings 
for drawing up the civil code. ' Tronchet,' said the Emperor, ' was the soul 
of this code, and I was its demonstrator. Tronchet was gifted with a singu- 
larly profound and correct understanding, but he could not descend to devel- 
opments. He spoke badly, and could not defend what he proposed. The 
whole council at first opposed his suggestions.' 

" But Napoleon," says Las Casas, " with his shrewdness and great facility 
of seizing and creating luminous and new relations, arose, and, without any 
other knowledge of the subject than the correct basis presented by Tronchet, 
developed his ideas, set aside objections, and brought every one over to his 
opinions. The minutes of the Council of State have transmitted to us the 
extempore speeches of the First Consul on most of the articles of the civil 
code. At every line we are struck with the correctness of his observations, 
the deptli of his views, and particularly with the liberality of his sentiments. 
Thus, in spite of the opposition that was set up to it, we are indebted to him for 
that article of the Code which enacts that every individual horn in France 
is a Frenchman.''^ 

"I should like to know," said the Emperor, "what inconvenience can 
possibly arise from acknowledging every man born in France to be a French- 
man. The extension of the French civil laws can only be attended by ad- 
vantageous consequences. Thus, instead of ordaining that individuals born 
in France of a foreign father shall obtain civil privileges only when they de- 
clare themselves willing to enjoy them, it may be decreed that they will be 
deprived of those privileges only when they formally renounce them. If 
individuals born in France of a foreign father were not to be considered as 
enjoying the full privileges of Frenchmen, we can not subject to the con- 
scription, or other public duties, the sons of those foreigners who have mar- 
ried in France through the events of the war. I am of opinion that the 
question should be considered only with reference to the interests of France. 
Though individuals born in France possess no property, they are, at least, 
animated by French spirit, and they follow French customs. They cherish 
that attachment which every one naturally feels for the country that gave 
him birth. Finally, they help to maintain the public burdens." 

" Tlie First Consul distinguished himself no less by his support of the 
article which preserves the privileges of Frenchmen to children horn of 
Frenchmen settled in foreign countries^ and this law he extended in spite 
of powerful opposition. ' The French people,' said he, ' who are a numerous 
and industrious people, are scattered over every part of the world, and in 
course of time they will be scattered about in still greater numbers ; but the 
French visit foreign countries only to make their fortunes. The acts by 
which they seem momentarily to attach themselves to foreign governments 
have for their object only to obtain the protection necessary for their various 

N 



194 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XIII. 

speculations. If they should intend to return to France after realizing a 
fortune, would it be proper to exclude them ? If it should happen that a 
country in the possession of France was to be invaded by the enemy, and 
afterward ceded to him by a treaty, would it be just to say to those of the 
inhabitants who might come to settle on the territory of the republic that 
they liad forfeited tlieir rights of Frenchmen for not having quitted their for- 
mer country at the moment it was ceded, and because they had sworn tem- 
porary allegiance to a new sovereign, in order to gain time to dispose of tlieir 
property and transfer their wealth to France ?' 

" In another debate on the decease of soldiers, some difficulties having 
arisen relative to those who might die in a foreign country, the First Consul 
exclaimed, with vivacity, ' The soldier is never in a foreign land when he is 
under his flag: where the flag is, there is France!' 

" On the subject of divorce, the First Consul was for the adoption of the 
principle, and spoke at great length on the ground of incompatibility, which 
it was attempted to repel. 

"'It is pretended,' said he, 'that divorce is contrary to the interests of 
women and children, and to the spirit of families ; but nothing is more a"" 
variance with the interests of married persons, when their humors are incom- 
patible, than to reduce them to the alternative of either living togetlier or 
of separating Avith publicity. Nothing is more opposite to domestic happi- 
ness than a divided family. Separation had formerly, with regard to the 
wife, the husband, and the children, nearly the same effect as divorce, and 
yet it was not so frequent as divorce now is. It was attended with this ad- 
ditional inconvenience, that a woman of bad character might continue to dis- 
honor her husband's name because she Avas permitted to retain it.' 

"AVhen opposing the drawing up of an article to specify the cases for 
which divorce would be admissible, he said, ' But is it not a great misfortune 
to be compelled to expose these causes, and reveal even the most minute and 
private family details ? 

" ' Besides, will these causes, even in the event of their real existence, be 
always sufficient to obtain divorce ? That of adultery, for instance, can oidy 
be successfully maintained by proofs which it is always very difficult, and 
sometimes even impossible to produce. Yet the husband who should not be 
able to bring forward these proofs Avould be compelled to live with a woman 
whom he abhors and despises, and who introduces illegitimate children into 
his family. His only resource would be separation from bed and board, but 
this would not shield his name from dishonor. IMarriage is not ahvays, as 
is supposed, the result of affection. A young female consents to marry for 
the sake of conforming to the fashion, and obtaining independence and an es- 
tablishment of her own. She accepts a hu.sband of a disproportionate age, 
and whose tastes and habits do not accord with hers. The law, then, should 
provide for her a resource against the moment when, the illusion having 
ceased, she finds that she is united in ill-assorted bonds, and that her expec- 
tations have been deceived. ]\Iarriaoe takes its ibrm from the manners, cus- 
toms, and religion of every people. Thus its forms are not every where 



1816, Maj.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 195 

alike. In some, countries, wives and concubines live under the same roof, 
and slaves are treated like children. The organization of families is, there- 
fore, not deduced from the law of nature. The marriages of the Romans 
were not like those of the French. 

" The precautions established by law for preventing persons from con- 
tracting unthinkingly, at the age of fifteen or eighteen, an engagement which 
extends to the whole of their lives, are certainly wise, but are they suffi- 
cient ? 

" That, after ten years passed in wedlock, divorce should not be admitted 
but for very weighty reasons, is also a proper regulation. Since, however, 
marriages contracted in early youth are rarely the choice of the parties them- 
selves, but are brought about by their families for interested views, it is 
proper that, if the parties themselves perceive that they are not formed for 
one another, they should be enabled to dissolve a union on which they had 
no opportunity of reflecting. The facility thus afforded them, however, 
should not tend to favor either levity or passion ; it should be surrounded by 
eveiy precaution, and every form calculated to prevent its abuse. The par- 
ties, for example, might be heard by a secret family council, held under the 
presidency of the magistrate. In addition to this, it might, if thought nec- 
essary, be determined that a woman should only once be allowed to procure 
divorce, and that she should not be suffered to remarry in less than five years 
after, lest the idea of a second marriage should induce her to dissolve the 
first ; that, after married persons have lived together for ten years, the disso- 
lution should be rendered very difficult. To grant divorce only on account 
of adultery publicly proved, is to proscribe it completely ; for, on the one 
hand, few cases of adultery can be proved ; and, on the other, there are few 
men shameless enough to expose the infamy of their wives ; besides, it would 
be scandalous, and contrary to the honor of the nation, to reveal the scenes 
that pass in some families ; it might be concluded, though erroneously, that 
they afford a picture of our French manners." 

" The first lawyers of the council," says Las Casas, " were of opinion that 
civil death should carry along with it the dissolution of the civil contract of 
marriage. The question was warmly discussed. The First Consul, with great 
animation, opposed it in these terms : 

" ' A woman is then to be forbidden, though fully convinced of her hus- 
band's innocence, to follow in exile the man to whom she is most tenderly 
united ; or, if she should yield to her conviction and to her duty, she is to 
be regarded only as a concubine ! Why deprive an unfortunate married 
couple of the right of living together under the honorable title of lawful hus- 
band and wife ? If the law permits a woman to follow her husband with- 
out allowing her the title of wife, it permits adultery. Society is sufficiently 
avenged by the sentence of condemnation, when the criminal is deprived of 
his property, and torn from his friends and connections. Is there any need to 
extend the punisliment to the wife, and violently to dissolve a union which 
identifies her existence with that of her husband ? Would she not say. You 
would better have taken his life ; I should then have been permitted at least 



196 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [CuAr. XIII. 

to cherish liis memory ; but you ordain that he shall live, and you will not 
allow me to console him in his misery ? Alas I how many men have been 
led into guilt only through their attachment for their wives I Those, there- 
fore, who have caused their misfortunes, should at least be permitted to share 
them. If a woman fultill this duty, you esteem her virtue, and yet you are 
allowing; her no greater iuduloence than would be extended to the infamous 
wretch who prostitutes herself."* 

In the evening the conversation chanced to turn upon Africa. " I regret 
very much," said the Kmperor, "that I had not time, during my stay in 
Egypt, to make an exploration of the interior. I possessed troops calculated 
in every respect to brave the dangers of the desert. I had received presents 
trom the Queen of Darfour, and had sent her some in return. Had I re- 
mained longer, I intended to have carried to a great extent our geograpliical 
investigations in the northern district of Africa, and that, too, by the simplest 
means — merely by placing in each caravan some intelligent officers, for whom 
I would have procured hostages." 

Speaking of the marine department, the Emperor remarked, " I can not 
say that I was entirely satisfied with Decres. I am not sure that the con- 
fidence which I reposed in him was fully merited. The difficulty of finding 
persons better qualified maintained him in his post, for, after all, Decres was the 
best 1 could find. Gantheaume was merely a sailor, and was destitute of ev- 
ery other talent. Caffiirelli forfeited my good opinion because I had been in- 
formed that his Avife intrigued in political affiiirs, which I regarded as an un- 
pardonable offense. JVIissiessi was not a man to be depended upon, for his 
family had been one of those who had surrendered up Toulon. For a mo- 

* "After the Restoration," says Las Casas, "as I was conversing with M. Bertraiul do Molle- 
ville, former minister of the marine under Louis XVL, a man of great abihties, and who has dis- 
tinguished himself in more ways than one, he said : 

" ' Your Napoleon was a very extraordinary man, it must l)e confessed. How little did wc know 
him on the other side of the water! We could not but yield to the conviction of his victories and 
his invasions, it is true ; but Genseric, Attila, and Alaric were as victorious as he. Thus he pro- 
duced on me an impression of terror rather than of admiration. But since I have been here I have 
taken the trouble to look over the debates on the civil code, and I have ever since l)een imbued with 
profound veneration for him. But v^'here in the world did he collect all his knowledge ! I discover 
something new every day. Ah I sir, what a mail you had at the head of your government ! Really 
he was nothing short of a prodigy.' " 

Our own illustrious statesman, Henry Clay, in the following terms expresses his opinion of the 
political wisdom of this "prodigious man." In a speech upon the tarill", in the House of Repre- 
sentatives, in 1844, he says : 

" The principle of the system under consideration has the sanction of some of the best and wisest 
men in all ages, in foreign countries as well as our own — of the Edwards, of Henry the Ureat. of 
Elizabeth, of the Colberts, abroad ; of our Franklin, JefVerson, Madison, and Hamilton, at home. 
But it comes to us recommended by a higher authority than any of these, illustrious as they unques- 
tionably are — by the master spirit of the age, that extraordinary man who has thrown the Alexan- 
ders and Caesars infinitely farther behind him than they stood in advance of the most eminent of 
their predecessors ; that singular man, who, whether he was seated on his imperial throne deciding 
the fate of nations, and allotting kinudoms to the members of his family with the same composure, 
if not with the same affection, as that with which a Virginia lathcndivides his plantation among 
his children, or on the miserable rock of St. Helena, to which he was condemned by the cruelty and 
injustice of his unworthy captors, is equally an object of intense admiration. He appears to have 
comprehended, with the rapidity of intuition, the true interests of a state, and to have been able, 
by the turn of a single expression, to develop the secret springs of the policy of cabinets." 



1816, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. I97 

ment I cast my eye on Emeriau, but, on consideration, I did not think that 
he possessed adequate capabilities. I had asked myself if Truguet might 
not have filled the post, but decided that he was not qualified for it. He 
was a good man of business, it is true, but he liad plunged very deeply into 
the affairs of the Revolution. I was confirmed in my disapproval of him by 
having subsequently seen some of his private letters, by which it was evident 
that he still adhered to his old Jacobinical sentiments. 

" I had rendered the duties of all my ministerial posts so easy that almost 
any one was capable of discharging them, if he possessed only fidelity, zeal, 
and activity. I must, however, except the office of minister of foreign affairs, 
in which it was frequently necessary to exercise a ready talent for persuasion. 

" In fact, in the marine department, but little was required, and Decres 
was perhaps, after all, the best man I could have found. He possessed au- 
thority. He discharged the duties of his office scrupulously and honestly. 
He was endowed with a good share of understanding, but this was evinced 
only in his conversation and private conduct. He never conceived any plan 
of his own, and was incapable of executing the ideas of others on a grand 
scale. He could walk, but he never could be made to run. He ought to 
have passed one half of his time in the sea-poi^ or on board the exercising 
squadrons. He would have lost none of my favor by so doing ; but, as a 
courtier, he was afraid to quit his portfolio. This shows how little he knew 
me. He would not have been the less protected by removing from ray court. 
His absence would have been a powerful circumstance in his favor. 

" I very much regretted Latouche Treville, whom I regarded as a man of 
real talent. I am of opinion that that admiral would have given a different 
impulse to affairs. The attack on India, and the invasion of England, would 
by him have been at least attempted, and perhaps accomplished. I blame 
myself for having employed the pinnaces at Boulogne. It would have been 
better had I employed actual ships at Cherbourg. I am of opinion that, had 
Villeneuve manifested more vigor at Cape Finisterre, the attack might have 
been rendered practicable. I had made arrangements for the arrival of Ville- 
neuve with considerable art and calculation, and in defiance of the opinions 
and the routine of the naval officers by whom I was surrounded. Every 
thing happened as I had foreseen, when the inactivity of Villeneuve ruined 
all. But," added the Emperor, "Heaven knows what instruction he might 
have received from Decres, or what letters might have been privately written 
to him which never came to my knowledge. I was very powerful, and was 
fond of searching into every thing, yet I am convinced that I was far from 
knowing all that was passing around me. 

" The grand marshal said the other day that it used to be remarked in the 
saloon of the household that I was never accessible to any one after I had had 
an audience with the minister of marine. The reason was because he never 
had any but bad news to communicate to me. For my part, I gave up every 
thing after the disaster of Trafalgar. I could not be every where, and I had 
enough to occupy my attention with the armies of the Continent. I had long 
meditated on a decisive expedition to India, but my plans had been con- 



198 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XIII. 

stantly fnistrated. I intended to have fitted out a force of sixteen thousand 
troops on board ships of the line ; each seventy-four to have taken five hund- 
red troops on board, which woukl, of course, have required thirty-two ships. 
I proposed that they should take in a supply of water for four months, which 
supply might have been renewed at the Isle of France, or in any habitable 
spot of the desert of Africa, Brazil, or the Indian Ocean. In case of need, 
they might have taken in water wherever they chose to cast anchor. On 
reaching the place of their destination, the troops were to be put ashore, and 
the ships Avere immediately to depart, making up the number of their crews 
by the sacrifice of seven or eight of the vessels, which might be condemned 
as unserviceable, so that an English squadron arriving from Europe imme- 
diately after would have found no trace of ours. As for the army, when 
abandoned to itself, and placed under the command of a clever and confiden- 
tial chief, it would have renewed the prodigies that were familiar to us, and 
Europe would have beheld the conquest of India, as she has already seen 
the conquest of Egypt." 

" I knew Decres well," said Las Casas. " We both commenced our ca- 
reer together in the marine. No sooner had your majesty returned to the 
Tuileries, than Decres and I ran to embrace each other, exclaiming, ' He has 
returned. We have him again.' His eyes were suftused with tears. I 
must bear this testimony to his feelings. ' Well,' said he to me, in the pres- 
ence of his wife, ' I am now convinced that I have often done you wi'ong, 
and I owe you reparation ; but your old habits and connections so naturally 
brought you in contact with the Bourbons, that I doubted not that you would, 
sooner or later, be perfectly reconciled with them, though you Avere, perhaps, 
often oftended at the expression of my real sentiments.'" 

" And did you believe this, you simpleton ?" said the Emperor, laughing. 
" This was an excellent piece of courtier-like art — a touch for La Bruyere. 
It was really a good idea on the part of Decres ; for if, during my absence, 
any thing offensive to me had chanced to escape him, he would, you see, by 
these means, have atoned for it once for all." 

" Well, sire," continued Las Casas, " what I have just told you is perhaps 
only amusing, but what I will now communicate is of a more important na- 
ture. During the crisis of 1814, before the taking of Paris, Decres was 
sounded, in a very artful way, as to his inclination to conspire against your 
majesty, and he honestly repelled the suggestion. Decres was easily and 
often roused to discontent, and he possessed a certain air of authority in his 
language and manners which rendered him a useful acquisition to any party 
he might espouse. He happened, at the unhappy period I just have men- 
tioned, to visit a person of celebrity, the hero of the machinations of the day. 
The latter advanced to Decres, and, drawing him aside to the fire-place, took 
up a book, saying, 

" ' I have just now been reading something that struck me forcibly. You 
shall hear it. Montesquieu, in such a chapter and page, says, " When the 
prince rises above the laws, when tyranny becomes insupportable, the op- 
pressed have no alternative but — " ' 



1816, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. [99 

" 'Enough!' exclaimed Decres, putting his hand before the mouth of the 
reader ; ' I will hear no more. Close the book.' The other coolly laid down 
the volume as though nothing particular had occurred, and began to talk on 
a- totally different subject." 

"The Emperor," continues Las Casas, "maintained the conversation for 
nearly two hours in tlie bath. He did not dine till nine o'clock, and he de- 
sired me to stay with him. We discoursed about the military school in 
Paris. I left the school only a year before Napoleon entered it, and there- 
fore the same officers, tutors, and comrades were common to us both. He 
took particular pleasure in reverting with me to this period of our youth — 
in reviving the recollection of our occupations, our boyish tricks, and our 
games. 

" In this cheerfulness of humor he called for a glass of Champagne, which 
was a very unusual thing. Such is his habitual abstinence, that a single 
glass of wine is sufficient to flush his face and to animate him. It is well 
known that he seldom sits longer than a quarter of an hour or half an hour 
at table, but to-day we sat upward of two hours. He was very much sur- 
prised when Marchand informed him it was eleven o'clock. ' How rapidly,' 
said he, with an expression of satisfaction, ' has time slipped away ! Why 
can I not always pass my hours thus agreeably ! My dear Las Casas, you 
leave me happy.' " 

May 12. Sir Hudson Lowe issued a proclamation prohibiting "any per- 
son from receiving or being the bearer of any letters or communications from 
General Bonaparte, the officers of his suite, his followers, or servants, of any 
description, or to deliver any to them, under pain of being arrested immedi- 
ately and dealt with accordingly." 

May 13. Dr. Warden, the surgeon of the Northumberland, had an audi- 
ence with the Emperor, and remained for two hours. The Emperor, in con- 
versation, took a review of the acts of his government which had drawn on 
him the greatest share of calumny, and concluded his remarks with the fol- 
lowing words : 

"I concern myself but little about the libels which have been written 
against me. My acts and the events of my reign refute them more com- 
pletely than the most skillful arguments that could be employed. I seated 
myself on an empty throne. I arrived at supreme power unsullied by the 
crimes tliat have usually disgraced the chiefs of dynasties. Let history be 
consulted ; let me be compared with others. If I have to fear the reproaches 
of posterity and history, it is not for having been too wicked, but perhaps for 
having been too good." 

After dinner the Emperor looked at a humorous book called " The Dic- 
tionary of Weathercocks." It consisted of an alphabetical collection of liv- 
ing characters who had figm-ed since the Eevolution, and whose language 
and conduct had varied with the political winds. Weathercocks were affixed 
to their names, with abstracts of the speeches or acts which had procured 
them the distinction. On opening the work the Emperor said, 

" Are any of us mentioned in it ?" 



200 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XIII. 

" No, sire," replied Las Casas, laugliing, " none save your majesty. The 
name of Napoleon is recorded because it is attinncd tliat he lirst sanctioned 
the republic, and then he assumed the prerogative of royalty." 

The Kmperor read several articles, and often laughed most lieartily at the 
coolness and eftrontery with whicli the transitions were made. After read- 
ing a few pages, however, he closed the book with an expression of regret and 
disgust, saying, 

"After all, the publication is a disgrace to society, a code of turpitude, and 
a record of our dishonor." 

He seemed deeply aftected in reading the recital of the apostacy of Ber- 
tholet. This man was one of tlie most eminent theoretical cliemists of the 
day. He had accompanied Napoleon in the Egyptian expedition, and had 
returned with him. The JOmperor, highly a}>preciating his scientific endow- 
ments, had loaded him Avith favors. Bertholet at one time sustained losses 
which involved him in ditliculties. The Emperor heard of this, and inuncdi- 
ately sent him one hundred thousand crowns, adding, " I have reason to 
complain of you. You seem to have forgotten that 1 am always ready to 
serve my friends.*' But when days of disaster were darkening around the 
Emperor, Bertholet nngratetully abandoned liim, and with eagerness return- 
ed to the Bourbons. Such ingratitude wounded the generous heart of the 
Emperor. He exclaimed, in saddened tones, "What! Bertholet! my friend 
Bertholet! on whom T thought I could rely with so nuxch confidence!" 

Jtfity 14. A large number of distinguished gentlemen and ladies, who had 
axrived at St. Helena in the East India fleet, were presented to the Emperor. 
He received f liem in the garden. The grand marshal conducted tliem to his 
presence. The Emperor met tliem with that grace and that captivating 
smile Avhieh ever exercised sueli irresistible power. He conversed witli each 
individual, and, Avith that tact peculiar to himself, seized upon the topics in 
which each Avas interested. \A'ith the supreme judge he discoursed on leg- 
islation and the administration of justice: with the ofHeers of the East India 
Company, on trade and the internal affairs of India: with the military gen- 
tlemen, on their Avounds and campaigns: Avhile he complimented the ladies 
ujion their fair appearance, remarking that tlie climate oi India had not in- 
jured their complexions. To one of the ovntlemen he said, 

" The grand marshal has informed mo that Lady Loudon is on the island. 
Had she been Avithin my limits, it Avould have afforded me nnich pleasure to 
pay my compliments to her : but as she happens to reside beyond the bound- 
aries Avhich haAc been prescribed to me, I luiA'c no more 0[iportunity of see- 
ing her than if she Avere still at Bengal." 

Louring the intcrvicAV, one of the English gentlemen remarked to Las Casas, 
" A^ hat grace and Avhat dignity of manner ! He is too great and too gifted 
a man I A\ e Iuia'C too much cause to dread and fear him I I can scarcely 
form a conception of the strength of mind necessary to enable him to endure 
such Avonderful re\'erses." The English gentlemen, as tliey left, expressed 
much mortification in contemplating the Avretehed apartments and shabby 
furniture of the Emperor. 



1816, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 201 

After dinner the Emperor asked his companions what thej would like to 
read. One proposed the " Dictionary of Weathercocks." 

"No," said the Emperor, "that serves but to render my evenings more 
unpleasant. Rather let us amuse ourselves with fiction." He then called 
for "Jerusalem Delivered," and read aloud several cantos of that poem, oc- 
casionally translating paragraphs into French. He then read a large part of 
Phedre and Athalie, always expressing his great admiration of the writings 
of Racine. 

May 14. The Emperor was unwell, and said to Dr. O'Meara, 

" I have promised to see a number of people to-day, and, though I am in- 
disposed, I shall do so." 

At this moment some of the visitors, who were walking arc-und the house, 
came close to the window of his dressing-room, which was oj)en, and tried to 
push aside the curtain and peep in. The Emperor made no remark upon 
this impertinence, but calmly closed the window, and, continuing his conver- 
sation, said, 

" The governor sent an invitation to Bertrand for General Bonaparte to 
come to Plantation House to meet Lady Loudon. I told Bertrand to return 
no answer to it. If he really wanted me to see her, he would have put 
Plantation House within the limits ; but to send such an invitation, knowing 
that I must go in charge of a guard if I wished to avail myself of it, was an 
insult. Had he sent me word that Lady Loudon was sick or fatigued, I 
would have gone to see her, although I think that, under all the circumstan- 
ces, she might have come to see me, or Madam Bertrand or Montholon, as 
she was free and unshackled. The first sovereigns in the world have not 
been ashamed to pay me a visit. It appears that this governor was with 
Blucher, and is the writer of some official letters to your government descrip- 
tive of the operations of 1814. I pointed them out to him the last time I 
saw him, and asked him, 'Is it you, sir?' He replied, 'Yes.' I told him 
they were full of falsehoods and nonsense. If those letters were the only 
accounts he sent, he betrayed his country." 

May 16. Under this date Las Casas makes the following record : "The 
governor presented himself at Longwood about three o'clock, with his milita- 
ry secretary, and desired to see the Emperor on business. The Emperor 
was unwell, and not dressed ; he said, however, he would see the governor 
as soon as he had finished dressing. In the course of a few minutes he en- 
tered the drawing-room, and I introduced Sir Hudson Lowe. As I was 
waiting in the ante-chamber with the military secretary, I could hear, from 
the Emperor's tone of voice, that he was irritated, and that the conversation 
was maintained with great warmth. The audience was long and stormy. 
On the governor's departure I went to the garden, whither the Emperor had 
sent for me. He had not been well for the last two days, and this affair 
completely upset him. 

" ' Well, Las Casas,' said he, on perceiving me, ' we have had a violent 
scene ; I have been thrown quite out of temper. They have now sent me 
worse than a jailer ! Sir Hudson Lowe is a dowm-ight executioner ! I re- 



202 



NAPOLEON AT ST HELENA. 



[CiiAP. XIIL 




THK CAPTIVE AND HIS JAILER. 



ceived liim to-day with ray stormy countenance — my head inclined, and my 
ears pricked up. We looked most furiously at eacli other. My anger must 
have been powerfully excited, for I felt a vibration in the calf of my left leg. 
This is always a sure sign with me, and I have not felt it for a long time 
before.' 

" The governor had opened the conversation with an air of embarrassment, 
and in broken sentences. He said some planks of wood had arrived. The 
newspapers must have made Napoleon acquainted with this circumstance. 
They were intended for the construction of a residence for him. He should 
be o-lad to know what he thoug-ht of it. 

" To this the Emperor replied only by a very significant look ; then, ad- 
verting hastily to other subjects, he told the governor with warmth that 
he asked him for nothing, and that he would receive nothing at his hands ; 
and that he merely desired to be left undisturbed. He added that, though 
he had much cause to complain of the admiral, he had never had reason to 
think him totally destitute of feeling ; that, though he found fault with him, 
he had, notwithstanding, received him always in perfect confidence ; but that, 
during the month that Sir Hudson Lowe had been on the island, he had ex- 
perienced more causes of irritation than during the six preceding months. 

" The governor observed that he did not come to receive a lesson. 

" ' But that, sir,' the Emperor hastily replied, ' is no proof that you do not 
stand in need of one. You tell me, sir, that your instructions are much more 
rigid than those that were given to the admiral. Do they direct that I should 
suffer death by the sword or poison ? No act of atrocity would surprise me 
on the part of your ministers ! If my death is determined on, execute your 
orders ! I know not how you will administer the poison, but as to putting 
me to death by the sword, you have already found the means of doing that. 
If you should attempt, as you have threatened, to violate the sanctuary of my 
abode, I give you fair warning that the brave 53d shall only enter by tramp- 
ling over my corpse. 



1816, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 203 

" ' On hearing of your arrival, I congratulated myself on the hope of meet- 
ing with a general who, having spent some portion of his hfe on the Continent, 
and having taken part in important public affairs, would know how to act in 
a becoming way to me; but I was grossly deceived.' 

" The governor here said that, as a soldier, his conduct had been conform- 
able with the interests and forms of his country. 

"'Your country, your government, and yourself,' the Emperor replied, 
' will be overwhelmed with disgrace for your conduct to me ; and this dis- 
gTace will extend to your posterity. Was there ever an act of more refined 
cruelty than yours, sir, when, a few days ago, you invited me to your table 
under the title of General Bonajjcirte^ with the view of rendering me an ob- 
ject of ridicule or amusement to your guests ? Would you have proportion- 
ed the extent of your respect to the title you were pleased to give me ? I 
am not General Bonaparte to you. It is not for you, or any one in the world, 
to deprive me of dignities which are fairly my own. If Lady Loudon had 
been within my boundaries, I should undoubtedly have visited her, because 
I do not stand upon strict etiquette with a woman ; but I should neverthe- 
less have considered that I was conferring an honor upon her. I have been 
told that you propose that some of the officers of your staff should accompa- 
ny me in my rides about the island, instead of the officer established at Long- 
wood. Sir, when soldiers have been christened by the fire of the battle- 
field, they have all one rank in my eyes. It is not the sight of any particu- 
lar uniform that offends me here, but the obligation of seeing soldiers at all, 
since this must be regarded as a tacit concession of the point which I dis- 
pute. I am not a prisoner of war, and I can not, therefore, submit to the 
regulations required in such a situation. I am placed in your power only by 
the most horrible breach of confidence.' 

" The governor, on taking leave, said, 'There is an officer of my staff with 
me whom I am desirous, on this occasion, of presenting to you.' 

"'I can not receive him at present,' the Emperor replied. 'No social 
relationship can exist between jailers and prisoners.' 

" The grand marshal now joined us. He came from his own house, where 
the governor had alighted both before and after his visit to the Emperor. 
He gave a detailed account of both his calls. He said that the governor, on 
his return, had shown great ill-humor, and had complained very much of the 
Emperor's temper. Not relying sufficiently on his own wit, he had recourse 
to that of the Abbe de Pradt, whose work had just then passed through our 
hands. He had said 'that Napoleon was not content with having created 
to himself an imaginary France, an imaginary Spain, and an imaginary Po- 
land, but that he now wished to create an imaginary St. Helena.'' On hear- 
ing this, the Emperor could not refrain from laughing. 

" He then drove out in the calash, and on our return the Emperor took a 
bath. He sent for me, and giving directions that he would not dine till nine 
o'clock, kept me with him. He talked over the affairs of the day, and dwelt 
on the abominable treatment he suffered, the atrocious malignity by which it 
was dictated, and the brutality by which it was executed. After a few mo- 



204 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ClIAP. XIII. 

ments of silence, lie exclaimed, as he frec^uoutly does, 'My dear Las Casas, 
they will kill me here ! it is certain.' " 

llnder this ilato l>r. l)"Meara -writes, 

" Saw Napoleon walking in the garden, in a veiy thoughtful manuor, a 
few niimites subsequent to the governor's departure. He said, 

*' ' Here has heen this jackanapes to torment me. l\dl liim tliat 1 never 
wish to see him again, and that 1 desire that he may not come again to an- 
noy me with his hateful presence. Let him never again come near me, un- 
less it be with orders to dispatch me. He will then fuul my breast ready 
for the blow ; but, till then, let me be free of his odious eouutouance. 1 can 
not accustom myself to it.'"* 

May 17. The Kmperor was very ill all the night, and in the morning was 
dull and melancholy. He breakfasted with Las Casas in the garden, and 
then, for some time, walked up and down the narrow path without uttering a 
word. At ten o'clock, the heat of the blazing sun, from Avhich there was no 
shade, drove him into the house. Hr. C)'^leara called. 

" \\'hat is the news?" inquired the Hmperor. 

" riie ladies," said O'Meara, "who were received a few davs a^'o, were 
highly delighted with your majesty's manners, especially as, from what tliey 
had read and hearil, they had been prepossessed Avitli opinions of a very dit- 
ferent nature." 

"Ah! I supjtose," said the Kmperor, with a smile, "that they imagined 
that 1 was some ferocious horned animal." 

Dr. O'Meani then spoke of the gross misrepresentations and calumnies 
of Sir Ixobert Wilson, and said, ",\.s these assertions have never been fully 
contradicted, they are believed by numbers oi the Knglish." 

" Bah !" replied Napoleon : "those calumnies will fall of themselves, espe- 
cially now that there are so many Knglish in France, who will soon tind out 
that they are all falsehoods. AVere Wilson himself not convinced of the 
untruth of the statcujcnts which he had once believed, ilo you think that he 
would have assisted Lavalette to escape out oi prison ?"t 

"After dinner, the Ihnperor," says Las Casas, "who had scarcely eaten 
any thing, attempted to read to us the Sitting of the Academy from Ana- 
charsis. His voice and his whole frame had lost their wonted vigor and spirit. 
Contrary to his custom, he ended without analysis or observation. He re- 
tired to rest as soon as the chapter was concluded." 

* The otRcial account which Sir Hudson Lowe gives of this iutorview is ahnost exactly the same 
with that reconled above The Emperor has not colored the scene at all in his own favor. 

t Count Lavalette, immediately after the capitulation of Paris in 1815, notwithstanding the sol- 
emn pledge of aumesty, was condemned by the Bourbons to death as an accomplice of Napoleon. 
(")n the day before the one appointed for his execution, his wife and daughter called to take leave 
of him. Exchanging garments with Madam Lavalette, the count escaped front prison. He con- 
cealed himself in Paris for a tbrtnight, eluding the utmost vigilance of the police. In the iniiform 
of a British otficer. he got into a cabriolet with Sir Kobert ^^'ilson, and passed the barriers For 
his escape he was indebted to three British otiicers, Messrs. Bruce, Hutchinson, and ^^■^lson. These 
men detested the tyranny of the Bourbons, and had becoule warm advocates of that liberty which 
Napoleon had so nobly advocated The Bourbons, irritated at the escape of their victim, treated 
Madam Lavalette with such inhumauitv that she became a continued lunatic. 



1816, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 205 

May ] 8. The Emperor continued quite unwell, and dined in his room with 
Las Casas. The faithful secretary, endeavoring to beguile the sadness of his 
illustrious friend, related several anecdotes of the court. Among others, he 
adverted to an instance of courtesy in a certain individual, who, being origin- 
ally a private soldier, attained the rank of marshal. One day, during his 
newly-acquired splendor, he assembled together at a family dinner his former 
colonel and four or five officers of the regiment, whom he received in his orig- 
inal uniform of a private, and he addressed his guests in the same terms 
wliich he had been in the habit of employing before he attained his elevated 
rank. 

"And tliis," oljserved the Emperor, "was the only way to soften down 
the fury of the times. Such acts as these must necessarily have created mu- 
tual fc(ilings of kindness between the opposite parties. And we may natu- 
rally siqjpose that, during recent events, the persons thus obliged will have 
returned the obligations they have received, were it only for the sake of being 
great." 

Tliis remark reminded Las Casas of a characteristic anecdote. A general 
had been guilty of irregularities in his department, which, had they been 
brought before a military tribunal, must have cost him his honor, perhaps his 
life. Now this general had rendered the most important services to Napo- 
leon on the day of Bramaire. The Emperor sent for him, and rej)roaelied 
him witli his misconduct. "However," said he, "you have laid me under 
obligations wliich I have not forgotten. I am, perhaps, about to transgress 
the laws and to fail in my duty. I pardon you, sir. Leave me. But know 
that, from this day forward, we are (i%tit. Take care of yourself for the fu- 
ture. I shall look sharply after you." 

May 19. Dr. O'Mcara found the Emperor better and in very cheerful 
spirits. Conversation turned upon Sir Hudson Lowe. 

"This governor, '^said the Emperor, " is an imbecile. He asked Bertrand 
the other day if he ever had asked any of the passengers bound to England 
whether they intended to go to France, as, if he had done so, he must not 
continue such a practice. Bertrand replied that he certainly had, and, more- 
over, liad begged of some to tell his relations that they were in good health. 

*' ' But,' said this imbecile, 'you must not do so.' 

" ' Why,' said Bertrand, ' has not your government permitted me to write 
as many letters as I like ? and can any government deny me the liberty of 
speaking ?' 

"Bertrand," continued the Emperor, "ought to have replied that galley- 
slaves and prisoners under sentence of death were permitted to inquire after 
their relations." 

He then observed how unnecessary and vexatious it was to require that 
an officer should accompany him, should he be desirous of visiting the inte- 
rior of the island. 

" It is all right," continued he, "to keep me away from the town and the 
seaside ; I would never desire to approach either the one or the other. All 
that is necessary for my security is to guard well the sea-borders of this rock. 



206 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [C^^^* ^HI- 

Let him place his pickets round the ishmd close by the sea, and in commu- 
nication with each other, whicli he might easily do with the number of men 
he has, and it would be impossible for me to escape. Can not he, moreover, 
put a few horsemen in motion when he knows I am gping out ? Can not 
he place them on the hills, or where he likes, without letting me know any 
thing about it ? I will never appear to see i/iem. Can not he do this with- 
out obliging me to tell Poppleton that I want to ride out '? Not that I have 
any objection to Poppleton. 1 love a good soldier of any nation, but I Avill 
not do any thing which may lead people to imagine that I am a prisoner. I 
have been forced here contrary to the law of nations, and I will never recog- 
nize their right to detain me. ]\Iy asking an officer to accompany me would 
be a tacit acknowledgment of it. I have no intention to attempt to escape, 
although I have not given my word of honor not to try ; neither will I ever 
give it, as that would be acknowledging myself a prisoner, which I will never 
do. Can not they impose additional restrictions when ships arrive ; and, 
above all, not allow any ship to sail until my actual presence is ascertained, 
without intlicting such useless, and, because useless, vexatious restrictions ? 
It is necessary for my health that I shoidd ride seven or eight leagues daily, 
but T will not do so with an officer or a guard over me. 

" It has always been my maxim that a man shows more real courage in 
supporting and resisting the calamities and misfortunes which befall him 
than by making away Avith himself. T/iat is the action of a losing game- 
ster or a ruined spendthrift, and is a Avant of courage instead of a proof of it. 
Your government Avill be mistaken if they imagine that, by seeking every 
means to annoy me, such as sending me here, depriA-ing me of all conununi- 
cation Avith my nearest and dearest relatives, so that I am ignorant if one of 
my blood exists, isolating me from the Avorld, imposing useless and vexa- 
tious restrictions, AA'hich are daily getting Avorse, sending the dregs of society 
as keepers, they Avill Aveary out my patience and induce me to commit suicide. 
They are mistaken. Ea'cu if I CA^er had entertained a fliought of the kind, 
tlie idea of the gratification it would attbrd them Avould prcA-ent me from 
completing it. 

" That j>alace," said lie, laughing, " which they say they have sent out for 
me, is so nnich money throAvn into the sea ; I Avould rather that they had 
sent me four hundred A^olumes of books than all their furniture and houses. 
In the iirst place, it aa' ill require some yeai's to build it, and before that time 
I shall be no more. All nnist be done by the labor of those poor soldiers 
and sailors. I do not AA'ish it ; I do not wish to incur the hatred of those 
poor felloAvs. They are already sufficiently miserable by haAdng been sent to 
this detestable place, and harassed in the manner they are. They Avill load 
me AA'ith execrations, supposing me to be the author of all their hardships, and, 
perhaps, may aausIi to put an end to me."' 

'vXo English soldier," said Dr. O'Meara, "Avould become an assassin." 
Napoleon inteiTupted him, saying, 

" I have no reason to complain of English soldiers or sailors. On the con- 
trary, they treat me Avith cAcry respect, and even appear to feel for me." 



1816, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 207 

He then spoke of some English officers. 

"Moore," said he, "was a brave soldier, an excellent officer, and a man 
of talent. He made a few mistakes, which were probably inseparable from 
the difficulties with which he was surrounded, and caused, perhaps, by his 
information having misled him." 

This eulogium he repeated more than once, and observed that he had com- 
manded the reserve in Egypt, where he had behaved very well, and displayed 
talent. 

" Moore," said Dr. O'Meara, "was always in the front of the battle, and 
was generally unfortunate enough to be wounded." 

"Ah!" said the Emperor, "it is necessary sometimes. He died gloriously! 
he died like a soldier. Menou was a man of courage, but no soldier. You 
ought not to have taken Egypt. If Kleber had lived, you never would have 
conquered it. Kleber was an irreparable loss to France and to me. He was 
a man of the brightest talents and the greatest bravery. I have composed, 
while at the Briers, the history of my own campaigns in Egypt and of 
yours." 

• The conversation then turned upon French naval officers. " Villeneuve," 
said he, "when taken prisoner and brought to England, was so much grieved 
at his defeat, that he studied anatomy that he might destroy himself. For 
this purpose, he bought some anatomical plates of the heart, and compared 
them with his own body, in order to ascertain the exact situation of that or- 
gan. On his arrival in France, I ordered that he should remain at Rennes, 
and not proceed to Paris. Yilleneuve, afraid of being tried by a court-mar- 
tial for disobedience of orders, and consequently losing the fleet — for I had or- 
dered him not to sail or to engage the English — determined to destroy him- 
self, and accordingly took his plates of the heart, and compared them with 
]iis breast. Exactly in the centre of the plate he made a mark with a large 
pin, then fixed the pin as near as he could judge in the same spot in his own 
breast, shoved it in to the head, penetrated his heart, and expired. When 
the room was opened he was found dead, the pin in his breast, and a mark in 
the plate corresponding with the wound in his breast. He need not have 
done it, as he was a brave man, though possessed of no talent. 

" Barre, whom you took in the Hivoli, was a very brave and good officer. 
When I went to Egypt, I gave directions, after I had disembarked and had 
taken Alexandria in a few hours, to sound for a passage for the fleet. A 
Venetian sixty-four got in, wliicli I suppose you have seen there, but it was 
reported that the large ships of the line could not. I ordered Barre to sound. 
He reported to me that there was a sufficiency of water in one part of the 
channel. Brueys, on the contrary, said there was not enough of water for 
the eighty-gun ships. Barre insisted that there was. In the mean time, I 
had advanced into the country after the Mamelukes. All communication 
with the army fi'om the town by messengers was cut off by the Bedouins, who 
took or killed them all. My orders did not arrive, or I would have obliged 
Brueys to enter, for you must know that I had the command of the fleet as 
well as of the army. In the mean time, Nelson came and destroyed Brueys 
and his fleet. 



208 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XIII. 

Sir Stamford Raffles, governor of Java, with his suite, arrived at St. He- 
lena. At three o'clock they were presented to the Emperor in the garden. 
About six o'clock the Emperor returned to his study, and sending for Las 
Casas, and Count Bertrand and lady, he conversed with great familiarity until 
dinner-time on various subjects relating to his fjimily and his minutest do- 
mestic affairs. Speaking of the Empress Josephine, he said, 

" We lived together like a private citizen and his wife. We were most 
affectionate and united, having for a long period occupied but one chamber 
and one bed. These are circumstances Avhich exercise great influence over 
the happiness of a family, securing the reputation of the wife and the confi- 
dence of the husband, and preserving union and good conduct on both sides. 
A married couple may be said never to Jose sight of one another when they 
pass the night together ; otherwise tliey soon become estranged. Thus, as 
long as this practice was continued, none of my thoughts or actions escaped 
the notice of Josephine. She observed, seized, and comprehended every 
thing. This circumstance was sometimes not altogether without its incon- 
veniences to myself and to public affairs. A son by Josephine would have 
completed my happiness, not only in a political point of view, but as a source 
of domestic felicity. As a political result, it would have secured to me the 
possession of the throne. The French people would have been 9s much at- 
tached to the son of Josephine as they were to tlie King of Rome, and I 
should not have set my foot on an abyss covered with a bed of flowers. But 
how vain are all human calculations ! Who can pretend to decide on what 
may lead to happiness or unhappiness in this life ? 

" During the Reign of Terror, Josephine was thrown into prison, while her 
husband perished on the scaffold. Her son Eugene was bound apprentice to 
a joiner, which trade he actually learned. Hortense had no better prospects. 
She was, if I mistake not, sent to learn the business of a seamstress. 

"Josephine would willingly have seen Maria Louisa. She frequently 
spoke of her with great interest, as well as of the young King of Rome. 
Maria Louisa, on her part, behaved wonderfully well to Eugene and Hor- 
tense, but she manifested the utmost dislike and even jealousy of Josephine. 
I wished one day to take her to Malmaison, but she burst into tears when I 
made the proposal. She said that she did not object to my visiting Jose- 
phine, only she did not Avish to know it ; but, whenever she suspected my in- 
tention of going to Malmaison, tliere was no stratagem which she did not em- 
ploy for tlie sake of annoying me. She never left me. And as these visits 
seemed to trouble her exceedingly, I did violence to my own feelings, and 
scarcely ever went to ]\Ialmaison. Still, however, when I did happen to go, 
I was sure to encounter a flood of tears and a multitude of contrivances of 
every kind. 

"Josephine," Napoleon continued, "possessed a perfect knowledge of all 
the different shades of the Emperor's character, and she evinced the most 
perfect tact in turning this knowledge to the best account. For example, 
she never solicited any favor for Eugene, or tlianked me for any I confeiTed 
on him. She never even showed any additional complaisance or assiduity at 



1816, May.] 



RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



209 



the moment when the greatest honors were lavished on him. Her grand 
aim was to prove that all this was m.j affair and not hers, and that it tend- 
ed to my advantage. Doubtless she entertained the idea that one day or 
other I would adopt Eugene as my successor. I am well convinced that I 
M^as the person whom Josephine loved best in all the world. She never 
failed to accompany me on all my journeys. Neither fatigue nor privation 
could deter her from following me. She employed importunity and even 
artifice to gain her point. If I stepped into my carriage at midnight to set 
out on the longest journey, to my surprise I found Josephine aber^dy pre- 
pared, though I had had no idea of her accompanying me. But I would 
say to her, 

" ' You can not possibly go. The journey will be too long, and will be 
too fatiguing to you.' 

" 'Not at all,' Josephine would reply. 

" ' Besides, I must set out instantly.' 

" ' Well, I am quite ready.' 

" 'But you must take a great deal of luggage.' 

" ' Oh no ! every thing is packed up.' " 

"I was generally obliged to yield. In a word, Josephine rendered her 
husband happy, and constantly proved herself his sincerest friend. At aU 
times and on all occasions she manifested the most perfect submission and 



I 




PORTEAIT OF LOUIS BONAPARTE, THE BROTHER OF NAPOLEON. 





210 



NAPOLEON AT ST, HELENA. 



[Chap. Xlil. 

dovotedncss. I shall novor oonso to veniombov liov willi tcMulornoss and grat- 
itude. Josephine ranked the quaUties ot" submission, obedienee, and eom- 
plaisance in licr sex on a \c\c\ with pohtical address. She often eondemn- 
ed the eonduet ot' her ihuighter llortense and her rehition Sleplianie, who 
lived on verv bad terms with tlieir husbands, tVequently indulging in eaprice, 
and prctendnig to assert their independence. 

" Louis had been spoiled bv reading the works of Rousseau, lie eontrivcd 
to agree with his wile only for a few months. There were faults on both 
sides. On the one hand, liOuis was too teasing in his temjier; and, on the 
otltpr, llortense was too volatile. Thev were attaehed to eaeh other at the 
time oi' their marriage, whieh was agreeable to their mutual wishes. The 
nu>st ridieidous reports were eireulateil respecting an improper intercourse 
between Napoleon and llortense. 8ueh a eonneetion would have been whol- 
Iv repugnant to my ideas ; and those who knew any thing of the nuirality of 
the Tuileries nuist be aware tiiat I need not have been redueed to so unnat- 
ural and revolting a ehoiee. 

" Hut llortense, the virtuous, the generous, the devoted llortense, was not 
entirelv t'aultless in her eonduet toward her husband. This I nuist acknowl- 
eilge, in spite of all the atieotion 1 bore her, and the sineere attachment which 




PORTRAIT OF HOKTENSE, THE DAUGHTER OF JOSEFHINI. 



1816, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONG WOOD. 211' 

I am sure she entertained for me. Though Louis's whimsical humors were, 
in all probability, sufficiently teasing, yet he loved Plortense. In such a case, 
a woman should learn to subdue her own temper, and endeavor to return her 
husband's attachment. Had she acted in the way most conducive to her in- 
terests, she might have avoided her late lawsuit, secured happiness to her- 
self, and followed her husband to Holland. Louis would not then have fled 
from Amsterdam, and I should not have been compelled to unite his kingdom 
to mine, a measure which contributed to ruin my credit in Europe. Many 
other events might also have taken a different turn. 

"Pauline was too careless and extravagant. She might have been im- 
mensely rich, considering all that I gave her ; but she gave all away in her 
'i;urn. Her mother frequently lectured her upon this subject, and told her 
that she would die in some house of charity. Madam, however, carried her 
parsimony much too far. It was even ridiculous. I offered to furnish her 
with a very considerable monthly income on condition that she would spend 
it. She, on the other hand, was very willing to receive the money, provided 
she were permitted to hoard it up. This arose, not so much from covetous- 
ness as from excess of foresight. All her fear was that she might one day 
be reduced to beggary. She had known the horrors of want, and they now 




PORTRAIT OF MADAME LETITIA, THE MOTHER OF NAPOLEON. 



212 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ClIAP. Xllf. 

constantly hauntcJ her imagination. It is, liowevcr, but just to acknowledge 
that she gave a great deal to her children in secret. She is, indeed, a kind 
mother. 

"Nevertheless, this woman, who was so reluctant to part with a single 
crown, would willingly have given me her all on my return from the island 
of Elba; and, aflcr the batlle of Waterloo, she would have surrendered to 
me all she possessed in I he world, lo assist me in re-establishing my affairs. 
This she offered to do ; and she would, witliout a murnnir, have doomed her- 
self" lo live on brown bread. Ijoftiness of sentiment still reigned paramount 
ill her hear(. l^Mevation of character and a noble and)itiou moved in advance 
of ])arsimony. I still liave present in my memory the lessons of magnanim- 
ity Avhich 1. had received from my mother in childhood, and which have in- 
Huenced my conduct tln-ongh lil'o. ^Plie naturally ])owerful mind oi 31(1(1(1171 
mother had been exalted by the great events of which she liad been a wit- 
ness. She had seen five or six revolutions, ller house had been thrice 
burned to the grouiul by factions in Corsica.* 

" .Iose}>h rendered me no assistance, but he is a very good man. His wife, 
Queen Julia, is the most amiable creature that ever existed. Joseph and I 
were always attached to each otiier, and kept on very good terms. He loves 
me sincerely, and 1 doubt not that he woidd do every thing in the world to 
servo me; but his qualities are only suited to private life, lie is of a gen- 
tle and kind dis]H)sition, ]iossesses talent and intonnation, and is altogether a 
most amiable man. In the discharge of the high duties which I confided to 
him, he did the best he could; his intentions were good, and therefore the 
principal fault rested not so nnieli with him as Avith me, avIio raised him 
abo\'e his proper sphere. When placed in important circumstances, he found 
his strength luiequal to the task imposed upon him. 

"The Queen of Naples (Caroline) Iiad chiefly formed herself amid great 
events. She iiad solid sense, strength of character, and boundless ambition. 
She must naturally suffer severely from her reverses, more particularly as she 
may be said to have been born a queen. She had not, like the rest of us, 
moved in the sjihere of ]n-ivate life. Caroline, Pauline, and Jerome were 
still in their childhood when 1 had attained siq)reine rank in France. Thus 
they never knew any other estate than that which they enjoyed dming the 
period of my power. 

* Las Cas.is romnrks, " How justly <liil lUo Emporor paint his mother's character! On my re- 
turn to lOuropc, I was doliiihlcil to witness the literal continuation of all he hail said respecting her. 
As soon as 1 liiscloseJ to Madam mother the Emperor's real situation, and declared my resolution 
to exert all my elVorts to alleviate his misery, the answer returned to me by the courier was, that 
iier whole fortune was at her sou's disjiosal, and that she would gain her suhsistencc by entering 
into service She, at the same tinie, authorized me, though I was not personally known to her. to 
draw inunediately in her name any sum that I might think necessary for the Emperor's use. Car- 
dinal Fesch also tendered his services in the most alVcctionate way ; and I nuist take this oppor- 
tunity of mentionnig that all the dilVerent nuMuhers of the Emperor's laniily evinceil equal love, zeal, 
and dcvotedness. So long as my health permitted me to maintain correspondence with them, I re- 
ceived a multitude of letters, which-fornt altogether a most interestmg collection. They retlect hon- 
or on the hearts of the writers, and they would have proved a source of consolation to the Emperor 
had the restrictions of the English government pernnitt'd me to submit them to his perusal." 



1816, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONG WOOD. 213 

"Jerome was an absolute prodigal. He plunged into boundless extrava- 
gance and the most odious libertinism. His excuse may perhaps be in his 
youth, and the temptations by which he was surrounded. On my return 
from Elba he appeared to be much improved, and to afford great promise. 
One remarkable testimony in his favor was the love with which he had in- 
spired his wife, whose conduct was admirable, when, after my fall, her father, 
the despotic and harsh King of Wurtemberg, wished to procure her divorce. 
The princess then, with her own hand, honorably inscribed her name in his- 
tory." 




PORTRAIT OF JEROME BONAPAUTE, THE BROTHER OF nApOI.EON 



The conversation was thus continued until midnight. The Emperor, on 
retiring, said, 

"What is doing at this moment in France and in Paris, and what shall 
we ourselves be doing on this day twelvemonth ?" 



214 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XIV. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

1816, May, Continued. 

The Emperor sleeping — The Governor arrests a Servant at Longwood — The Bible — Princess 
Stephanie — Expulsion of Portalis — Political Reflections — Voltaire's Brutus — French Colony on 
the St Lawrence — Carnot — French Manufactures — Physiognomy — The English Soldiers salute 
the Emperor — Corsica — Napoleon's Mother — Madam Chevreuse — The Conspirators — The Situ- 
ation of England. 

May 20. Under this date Las Casas makes the following record : 

"Mr. Balcombe had intimated to me that he was appointed to supply us 
with what we wanted at the expense of the English government ; but I wrote 
to inform him that, as my own pecuniary circumstances enabled me to dis- 
pense with this favor, I was resolved not to avail myself of it. I therefore 
begged that he would obtain permission from the government to receive from 
me a bill drawn on some person in England, which could not be transmitted 
without special permission. I wished to remain free of all obligations, so 
that nothing might impede me in freely exercising the just and sad privilege 
of venting my reproaches and imprecations. 

" The Emperor rode out in the calash very early. On his return, about 
three o'clock, he desired me to follow him to his chamber. 

" 'I am low-spirited, unwell, and fatigued,' said he; 'sit down in that 
chair and bear me company.' 

" He threw himself on his couch and fell asleep, while I watched beside 
him. I sat within a few paces of him. His head was uncovered, and I 
gazed on his brow — that brow on which were inscribed Marengo, Austerlitz, 
and a hundred other immortal victories. What were my thoughts and sensa- 
tions at that moment ! They may be imagined, but I can not attempt to de- 
scribe them. 

" In about three quarters of an hour the Emperor awoke. He took a few 
turns in his chamber, and then took a fancy to visit the apartments of all the 
individuals of his suite. When he had minutely considered all the incon- 
veniences of mine, lie said, with a smile of indignation, 

" ' Well, I do not think that any Christian on earth can be worse lodged 
than you are.' 

"After dinner the Emperor attempted to read a part of the Caravanserail 
de Sarrazin. After glancing over a few of the tales, and reading a page from 
one of them, he said, 

" ' The moral of this story doubtless is, that men never change. This is 
not true. They change to better and worse. A thousand other maxims 
which authors attempt to establish are all equally false. They affirm that 
men are ungratefvl ; but no, they are not so ungrateful as is supposed. And 
if ingratitude be frequently a subject of complaint, it is because the benefac- 
tor requires more than he gives. 



1816, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 215 

" ' It is also said, that when you know a man's character, you have a key 
to his whole conduct / but this is a mistaken notion. A man may commit 
a had action though he he fundamentally good. He may he led into an act 
of wickedness without being himself wicked. This is because man is usually 
actuated, not by the natural bent of his character, but by a secret momentary 
passion which has lain dormant and concealed in the inmost recesses of his 
heart. Another error is to suppose that the face is the mirror of the mind. 
The truth is, that it is very difficult to know a man's character. To avoid 
being deceived on this point, it is necessary to judge a person by his actions, 
and it must be by his actions of the moment, and merely for that moment. 

" ' In truth, men have their virtues and their vices, their heroism and their 
perversity. Men are neither generally good or generally bad, but they pos- 
sess and practice all that is good and bad in this world. This is the princi- 
ple. Natural dispositions, education, and accidental circumstances are the 
applications. I have always been guided by this opinion, and I have gen- 
erally found it correct. However, I was deceived in 1814, when I believed 
that France, at the sight of her dangers, would make common cause with 
me ; but I was not deceived in 1815, on my return from Waterloo.' 

"The Emperor felt unwell, and retired very early." 

May 21. The Emperor continued quite unwell, but was able to take a 
short ride in the calash. On his return, he was informed that Sir Hudson 
Lowe had been to Longwood, and had himself arrested one of the servants 
of General Montholon, who had recently left the service of deputy governor 
Skelton. On hearing this, the Emperor exclaimed, 

"What turpitude! what meanness! A governor, an English lieutenant 
general, himself to arrest a servant ! Really, this conduct is too disgust- 
ing ! "* 

After dinner the Emperor asked what book he should read, and all decided 
for the Bible. 

" This is certainly very edifying," said the Emperor ; "it would never be 
imagined in Europe." 

He read the book of Joshua, observing, at almost every town or village that 
he named, 

" I encamped there ; I carried that place by assault ; I gave battle here." 

May 22. At dinner to-day conversation turned upon Madam Campan's 
establishment, the young persons who had been educated in it, and the for- 
tunes which the Emperor had conferred upon some of them. He particu- 
larly alluded to Stephanie de Beauharnais, afterward Princess of Baden. She 
v. as the cousin of Josephine, and the Emperor was much attached to her. 
Speaking of himself in the third person, the Emperor said, 

" Princess Stephanie, of Baden, lost her mother in her childhood. She 

* The servant was arrested because he had entered into the service of General Montholon with- 
out having first obtained permission of the governor. The servant was a Persian, and waited at the 
Emperor's table. Sir Hudson Lowe arrested him, "seizing him," says Count Montholon, "with 
his own hands by the throat, and then giving him in charge to a dragoon." Respecting this ar- 
rest, Sir Hudson Lowe says, " The hire of servants without my permission was a thing attempted 
to be established, and this put a stop to it." 



21G NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XIV. 

was left in the care of an English lady, her mother's intimate friend, who was 
very rich and without children, and who contided the education of her pro- 
tegee to some old nuns in the south of France, I believe at j\lontauban. Na- 
poleon, during his consulship, one day heard Josephine mention this circum- 
stance, while alluding to her young relation, Stephanie. 

" ' How can you permit this V said he ; ' how can you suffer one of your 
name to be supported by a foreigner, an English woman, who must, at this 
moment, be regarded as our enemy ? Are you not afraid that }'0ur memory 
will one day suifer by this V 

"A courier was immediately dispatched to bring the young lady to the 
Tuilcries, but the nuns refused to part with her. Napoleon, however, insti- 
tuted the necessary legal forms, and a second courier was speedily sent to the 
prefect of the district, with orders instantly to seize the person of the young 
lady in the name of the laAv. 

" Owing to the circumstances of the times, such was the influence of cer- 
tain systems, and of the opinions which they inspired, that Stephanie's re- 
moval Avas to herself a source of deep regret ; and she beheld, not without 
terror, him Avho declared liimself her relative, and Avho Avas about to become 
her benefactor. She AA^as placed in the establishment of Madam Campan, at 
St. Germain. All sorts of masters were appointed to superintend her edu- 
cation ; and, on her introduction to the AA'orld, Iier beauty, Avit, accomplish- 
ments, and A^rtues rendered her an object of universal admiration. 

" The Emperor adopted her as his daughter, and gave her in marriage to 
the hereditary Prince of Baden. This union Avas for several years far from 
being happy. In coui'se of time, however, the causes of difference gradually 
A'anishcd ; the prince and princess became attached to each other, and from 
that moment they had only to regret the happiness of AA'hich they had de- 
prived themselves during the early years of their mamage. 

" At tlie conferences of Erfiirth, the Princess of Baden received the most 
flattering attentions from her brother-m-laAV, the Emperor Alexander. During 
our disasters in 1813, persons Avho Avere at the head of political affairs, dread- 
ing the result of an intervicAV betAveen Alexander and the Princess of Baden 
at JManhcim, succeeded in dcpriAHng the princess of the regard of her august 
relative by circulating false reports to tlie prejudice of her character. Thus, 
Avhen Alexander aiTiAcd at ]\Ianlieim in his triumphant march to Paris, he 
by no means treated Princess Stephanie Avitli due respect. His conduct was 
calculated to Avound her feelings, but it coidd not humble her pride. 

" On this occasion, the conduct pursued by the Prince of Baden reflected 
true glory on his character. The most august personages surrounded him, 
and urged him to repudiate the AA'ife Avhoni he had receiAxd fi-om the hands 
of Napoleon ; but the pruice, Avith true nobleness of sentiment, rejected the 
idea, observing that he Avould never commit an act of baseness which would 
be as repugnant to his affections as to his honor. This generous prince, to 
Avhom Ave did not render sufficient justice in Paris, afterAA'ard fell a A'ictim to 
a tedious and painful illness ; the princess personally attended on her hus- 
band througliout the Avliole of his sufferings, performing Avith her OAvn hands 



1816, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONG WOOD. 217 

all the minute services that his situation required. Her devoted attacliment 
gained for her the admiration of her relatives and subjects. 

"Princess Stephanie, of Baden, shed a lustre over her exalted station. She 
conferred honor on her character as a wife and a daughter. She at all times 
professed the highest veneration for him who, when in the enjoyment of 
boundless power, had benevolently adopted her as his child." 

May 23. The Emperor was quite ill, and had passed a sleepless night. 
He sat upon his sofa during the morning in an undress. During the con- 
versation with Las Casas he remarked, 

"A sovereign should be regarded only as the blessing of his people. His 
acts of severity should be overlooked in consideration of his acts of clemency. 
Mercy must still be held to be his chief attribute. In Paris I have some- 
times been reproached for conversations and words which, in truth, ought not 
to have escaped me, but my personal situation, my extreme activity, and 
most of my acts, which really proceeded from myself, ought to have made 
amends for many things. « 

" I must reproach myself for the expulsion of Portalis from the Council of 
State. I was too severe. I should have checked myself before I ordered 
him to be gone. He attempted no justification, and, therefore, the scene 
should have ended merely by my saying it is well. His punishment should 
have awaited him at home. Anger is always unbecoming in a sovereign. 
But perhaps I was excusable in my council, where I might consider myself 
in the bosom of my own family. Or perhaps, after all, I may be justly con- 
demned for this act. Every one has his fault. Nature will exert her sway 
over us all." * 

The following was the scene to which the Emperor here alludes : 

A religious faction was fomenting civil discord in the state by secretly cir- 
culating bulls and letters from the Pope. They were shown to M. Portalis, 
a councilor of state, appointed to superintend religious worship, and who, if 
he did not himself circulate them, at least neither prevented nor denounced 
their circulation. This was discovered, and the Emperor suddenly challenged 
him with the fact in open council. 

" What could have been your motive, sir ?" said he. " "Were you influ- 
enced by your religious principles ? If so, why are you here ? I use no 
control over the conscience of any man. Did I force you to become my 
councilor of state ? On the contrary, you solicited the post as a high favor. 
You are the youngest member of the council, and, perhaps, the only one 
who has not some personal claim to that honor. You had nothing to rec- 
ommend you but the inheritance of your father's services. You took a person- 
al oath to me. How could your religious feelings permit you openly to vio- 
late that oath, as you have just now done ? Speak, however ; you are here 
in confidence. Your colleagues shall be your judges. Your crime is a great 
one, sir. A conspiracy for the commission of a violent act is stopped as soon 
as we seize the arm that holds the poniard; but a conspiracy to influence 
the public mind has no end. It is like a train of gunpowder. Perhaps at this 
very moment whole towns are thrown into commotion through your fault." 



218 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XIV. 

The councilor, quite confused, said nothing in reply. His guilt was un- 
deniable. The members of the council, to the majority of whom tliis event 
was quite unexpected, were struck with astonishment, and observed profound 
silence. 

" Why," continued the Emperor, " did you not, according to the obligation 
imposed by your oath, discover to me the criminal and his plots ? Am I not 
at all times accessible to every one of you ?" 

"Sire," said the councilor, at length venturing to reply, "he was my 
cousin." 

"Your crime is then the greater, sir," replied the Emperor, sharply. 
*' Your kinsman could only have been placed in office at your solicitation. 
From that moment all the responsibility devolved on you. When I look 
upon a man as entirely devoted to me, as your situation ought to render you, 
all Avho are connected with him, and all for whom he becomes responsible, 
from that time require no watcliing. These are my maxims." 

The accused member still remained silent, and the Emperor continued, 

" The duties whicli a councilor of state owes to me are immense. You, 
sir, have violated those duties, and you hold the office no longer. Leave me. 
Let me never see you here again." 

The disgraced councilor, as he was withdrawing, passed very near the Em- 
peror. The latter looked at him, and said, 

" I am sincerely grieved at this, sir, for the services of your father are still 
fresh in my memory." When he was gone the Emperor added, " I hope 
such a scene as this may never be renewed. It has done me too much harm. 
I am not mistrustful, but may become so. I have allowed myself to be sur- 
rounded by every party. I have placed near my person even emigrants and 
soldiers of the army of Conde ; and though it was Avished to induce them to 
assassinate me, yet, to do them justice, they have continued faithful. Since 
I have held the reins of government, this is the iirst individual employed 
about me by whom I have been betrayed." 

'Then turning toward M. Locre, Avho took notes of the debates of the Coun- 
cil of State, he said, "You will write betrayed^ do you hear?" 

As the Emperor continued the conversation Avith Las Casas, he reproached 
himself very severely for another scene in which he allowed himself to give 
passionate utterance to his just indignation. The occurrence took place at 
the Tuileries, at one of the grand audiences, and in the presence of all the 
court. 

" But in this instance," said the Emperor, "I Avas provoked to the utmost 

extreme. My anger burst forth against my inclination. I had given G , 

a name very illustrious in the Faubourg St. Germain, the command of a le- 
gion of the capital, AA^hich Avas menaced. He undertook to defend it. I aft- 
erward learned that he rejoiced in our disasters, and invoked them ; but I 
then did not knoAv this. The enemy Avas advancing upon us. G cool- 
ly wrote to inform me that his health Avould not permit him to take the com- 
mand ; and, nevertheless, he dared to present himself to me as a courtier in 
perfect activity and good spirits. I Avas very indignant at liis conduct, but 



1816, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 219 

I repressed my anger, and resolved to take no notice of liim. He, however, 
on three or four occasions, sought an opportunity of throwing himself in my 
way. I could no longer stifle my rage. The bomb exploded. 

" ' How, sir !' said I, ' you write me that you are too sick to command the 
troops, and yet you appear here a courtier in perfect health ! I, who believed 
that your name belonged to the country, I have done you the honor to give 
you one of the legions of the capital, to defend it against the enemy which is 
at its gates, and you refuse me ! What do you wish me to think ? I am 
perplexed. There is either cowardice here, or treason. Can there be trea- 
son ? But I do not intrude my opinions upon any one, sir. It is not I who 
have sought you out. Remember all your eagerness and your sycophancy 
to throw yourself in my way. Lay aside that cross of honor which you 
have purloined from me ; it is very much misplaced ; and let me never again 
see you in the palace. These walls only proclaim your shame.' 

"Can it be believed," continued the Emperor to Las Casas, "that after 
such an assault, for which I most severely reproach myself, he only occupied 
himself in sending to me his submission, his repentance, his new protest- 
ations? The poltroon! But I would listen to nothing from him." 

" And you did wisely, sire," said Las Cas.as ; "he justified to the end the 
opinion you had formed of him. When the Allies entered Paris, he was seen 
on the terrace of the Tuileries, in front of the hotel of Talleyrand, which the 
Emperor Alexander occupied, waving a white handkerchief in the midst of 
the crowd, and shouting, ' Come on, my lads ! cheers for Alexander ! our 
friend ! our liberator ! ' The multitude were indignant, and, in spite of the 
Russian Guards who surrounded the hotel, they forced him to fly. He nar- 
rowly escaped with his life." 

"But what distressed me most of all," continued the Emperor, " was the 
situation of G — ■ — -'s son, who was my chamberlain, and of whom I had no 
reason to complain." 

May 24. The Emperor rode out in his calash. As journals had recently 
been received from England, the conversation naturally turned upon politics. 

"In France," said the Emperor, "I perceive that the patriots are emigra- 
ting rapidly ; and there seems to be a wish to encourage their emigration, as 
their property has not been confiscated. 

" I think, also, that I can perceive, from the debates in the English Parlia- 
ment, a reserved idea respecting the division of France. This is dreadful. 
Every one possessing a true French heart must now be overwhelmed with 
despair. An immense majority of the population of France must be plunged 
in the deepest sorrow. Ah ! why am I not placed in some remote sphere, 
on a soil truly free and independent, where no external influence could be 
dreaded I How would I astonish the world ! I would address a proclama- 
tion to the French ; I would say to them, ' You are lost if you are not united ! 
The odious, the insolent foreigner is about to parcel you out and to annihi- 
late you! Frenchmen, arise I make common cause at all hazards ! Rally, 
if it must be so, even around the Bourbons ! Let the existence, the safety 
of France, take place of every otlier consideration ! ' 



220 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XIV. 

"Russia, however," continued the Emperor, "I think, must oppose this 
division. She woukl thereby have to tear the growing strength of Germany." 

"Austria also," said Las Casas, "must oppose it, from the apprehension 
of wanting the neeessary support in case of any attempts on the part of Rus- 
sia. In sueh a case, iVustria might possibly subserve the cause of the King 
of Rome by bringing him forward." 

" Yes," replied Napoleon, " as an instrument of menace, perhaps, hut never 
as the object of her good Avishcs. Austria must have too much cause to dread 
him. TJie King of Rome will be the man of the people — he Avill he the 
champion of Italy. Thus it will be the policy of Austria to take his life. 
This will probably not be attempted during the reign of his grandfother, who 
is a good man ; hut the Kmpcror Francis can not live forever. If, however, 
the manners of the present age should preclude the possibility of an attempt 
to murder him, they will endeavor to brutalize his faculties ; or, finally, if he 
should escape both physical and moral assassination — if his mother's cares 
and his own natural endowments should rescue him from all those dangers, 
then — then — " he repeated several times, as if absorbed in reflection, " Avhy, 
then — biit who can calculate the destinies of any one V 

The Emperor then turned the conversation to England, and said, "En- 
gland alone is interested in the destniction of France. She can not, how- 
ever, increase the power of Relgium, for in that case Antwerp would become 
as fonnidable to her as it was under my reign. She must leave the Bour- 
bons in the centre, with only eight or ten millions of inhabitants, and sur- 
round them Avith princes, dukes, or kings of Normandy, Brittany, Aquitaine, 
and Provence, so that Cherburg, Brest, Garonne, and the ]\Iediterranean 
would be in the possession of different sovereigns. This would make the 
French monarchy retrograde several ages ; Avould restore it to its sitiiation 
under the first Capets ; and would pro\ade for the Bourbons a few centuries 
of new and laborious efforts. But, fortunately, before England can arrive at 
this point, she will have to surmount almost invincible obstacles — the uni- 
formity of the division of the territory in departments, tlie similitude of lan- 
guage, the identity of manners, the universality of the Code, the generality of 
my lyceums, and the glory and splendor which I have left behind me. These 
are so many indissoluble knots and truly national institutions. 

" A great nation like France can not easily be parceled out ; and if it 
should be, it will be constantly reuniting, and seeking to recover its import- 
ance, like Ariosto's giant, who runs after his limbs, and even his head, as 
they are lopped off, and, after putting them on, begins to tight again." 

"But, sire," said Las Casas, "the power of the giant depended on the 
plucking out of a single hair. In like manner. Napoleon may be said to be 
the hair on which depended tlie existence of France." 

" No," resumed the Emperor, " my memory and my ideas would still sur- 
vive ; but England, on the conti-aiy, would, in the coiu'se of time, have be- 
come a mere appendage to France, had the latter continued under my do- 
minion. England was by nature intended to be one of our islands, as well 
as Olcron or Corsica. On what trifles does the fate of empires depeiul! 



1816, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONG WOOD. 221 

How petty and insignificant are our revolutions in the grand organization 
of the universe ! If, instead of entering upon tlie Egyptian expedition, I had 
invaded Ireland, if some slight derangement of my plans had not thrown ob- 
stacles in the way of the Boulogne enterprise, what would England have been 
co-day ? What would have been the situation of the Continent and of the 
whole political world ?" 

May 25. After dinner the Emperor read the Greek tragedy of (Edipus, 
which he admired exceedingly. He then took up Brutus, which he analyzed 
with remarkable skill. 

" Voltaire," said he, " has not truly comprehended his subject. The Ro- 
mans were guided by patriotism as we are by honor. Yoltaire has not por- 
trayed the real sublimity of Brutus, sacrificing his sons for the welfare of his 
country, and in spite of the pangs of paternal affection. He has made him 
a monster of pride, decreeing the death of his children for the sake of pre- 
serving his power, his name, and his celebrity. The other characters of the 
tragedy are equally misconceived. TuUia is described as a fury, who takes 
advantage of her situation, and not as a woman of- tender sentiment, who 
might be led into crime by seduction and dangerous influence." 

May 26. At two o'clock the Emperor sent for Las Casas. He was weary 
and sad. Together they looked over some of the European journals. It was 
there stated that Joseph Bonaparte had purchased an extensive tract of land 
on the River St. Lawrence, in the northern part of the State of New York. 

"This establishment," said the Emperor, "will in a few years present a 
numerous population, distinguished for all sorts of useful knowledge. If they 
do their duty, they will transmit from their colony excellent writings, victo- 
rious refutations of the system which now triumphs in Europe. 

" If I had gone to America, I intended to have collected all my relatives 
around me. I suppose that we might realize at least eight millions of dol- 
lars. This point would have become the nucleus of a national union, a sec- 
ond France. Before the conclusion of the year,, the events of Europe would 
have collected around me twenty millions of dollars, and sixty thousand in- 
dividuals, most of them possessing wealth, talent, and information. I should 
like to have realized that dream. It would have been a renewal of my glory. 

" America was, in all respects, our proper asylum. It is an immense con- 
tinent, presenting the advantages of a peculiar system of freedom. If a man 
be troubled with melancholy, he may get into a coach and drive a thousand 
leagues, enjoying all the way the pleasure of a common traveler. In Amer- 
ica you may be on a footing of equality with every one.. You may, if you 
please, mingle with the crowd without inconvenience, retaining your own lan- 
guage, your own manners, and your own religion. It is impossible that I 
could henceforth consider myself a private man in Europe ; my name is too 
popular throughout the Continent. In some way or other, I am connected 
with every people, and belong to every country. 

"As for you," said he to Las Casas, smiling, "your fate seemed naturally 
to lead you to the shores of the Orinoko or to Mexico, where the recollection 
of the good Las Casas is not yet obliterated. You would there have en- 



222 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. XIY. 

joyed all you could ha\e Avished. The destinies of some men seem to be 
marked out : Gregoire, for instance, has only to go to Hayti, and he would 
Immediately be made a Pope." 

In this connection Las Casas makes the following record : 
" At the time of the Kmperor's second abdication, an American in Paris 
wrote to him as follows : ' While you were at the head of a nation, you 
could perform any miracle, you might conceive any liojjes ; but now you can 
do nothing more in Europe. Fly to the United States ; I know the hearts 
of the leading men, and the sentiments of the people of America. You will 
there find a second country, and every source of consolation.' 

"Tlie Em])eror would not listen to such a suggestion. He might, doubt- 
less, by dint of speed or disguise, have gained Brest, Nantes, Bordeaux, or 
Toulon, and in all probability have reached America; but he conceived that 
either disguise or tiiglit would be derogatory to his dignity. He thought 
himself bound to prove to all Europe his full confidence in the Erencli peo- 
ple, and their extreme attachment to him, by passing through his dominions 




1816, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 223 

at such a crisis merely in the quality of a private man, and unattended by 
any escort. But what, above all, influenced him at that critical moment was 
the hope that impending dangers would open the eyes of his subjects, that 
they would rally around him, and that he might save the country*. This 
hope caused him to linger at Malmaison, and to postpone his departure after 
he reached Rochefort. If he is now at St. Helena, he owes his captivity to 
this sentiment, of which he was unable to divest himself. Subsequently, 
when he had no other resource than to accept the hospitality of the Bellero- 
pho7i, it was not, perhaps, without a feeling of inward satisfaction that he 
found himself, by the force of circumstances, irresistibly led to fix his abode 
in England, where he might enjoy the happiness of being still but little re- 
moved from France. He was well aware that he could not be free in En- 
gland; but he hoped to be heard, and then a chance would at least have 
been open to the impressions he might create." 

" The English ministers," said he, "who are the enemies of their country, 
and who have sold her to foreigners, thought they had too much cause to 
dread my presence. They conceived that my opinion in London would be 
more powerful than the whole opposition ; that it would have compelled them 
either to change their system or resign their places ; and to keep themselves 
in place, they basely sacrificed the true interests of their country, the tri- 
umph, the glory of her laws, the peace of the world, the welfare of Europe, 
the happiness and the benedictions of posterity." 

In the course of conversation, the Emperor adverted to Waterloo, and de- 
scribed the terrible anxiety and suffering he endured before he came to the 
- resolution to abdicate. 

~ " My speech to the min- 

isters," said he, "was the 
literal prophecy of all that 
subsequently took place." 
" Carnot was the only 
one who seemed to take 
a right view of the case. 
He opposed the abdication, 
which he said was a death- 
blow to France; and he 
wished that we should de- 
fend ourselves even to an- 
nihilation. Carnot was the 
only one who maintained 
this opinion ; all the rest 
were for the abdication. 
That measure was determ- 
ined, and Carnot, covering 
his face with his hands, 
burst into tears. 
fouiKAu 01 cAKNoi " I Said, ' I am not a 




224 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ClIAP. XIV. 

God. I can not do all by my own single efforts. I can not save the nation 
without the help of the nation.' I am certain that the people then entertain- 
ed these sentiments, and that they are now suffering undeservedly. It was 
the hosf of intriguers, and men possessing titles and offices, who were really 
guilty. That Avhich misled them and ruined me was the mild system of 
1814, the benignity of the Restoration. They looked for a repetition of this 
lenity. The change of the sovereign had become a mere joke. They all cal- 
culated on remaining just as they had been before, wlietlicr I should be suc- 
ceeded by Louis XVIII. or any other. These stupid, selfish, and egotistical 
men looked upon the great event as merely a competition, about which they 
cared but little, and they thought only of their individual interest when a 
deadly war of principles was about to be commenced. And why should I 
disguise the truth ? There were among the individuals whom I liad ele- 
vated, and by wliom I was surrovmded, a number of wretched boasters ! " 

Then turning to Las Casas, he added, " I am not alluding to your Fau- 
bourg 8t. Germain, with respect to which the matter was totally different, 
and for which some excuse may be found. During my reverses in 1814, the 
greatest traitors were not the individuals connected with that party, of whom 
I liad no great cause to complain, and wlio, therefore, on my return, were 
not bound to me by any particular ties of gratitude. I had abdicated. The 
king was restored. They had but returned to their old attachments, and 
had only renewed their allegiance." 

May 27. It was a beautiful day, but the Emperor was very iU and very 
low-spirited. He walked out, with some of his friends, to the extremity of 
the wood, waiting for the calash. When it arrived, they entered it for their 
usual drive. Some one alluded in conversation to the state of manufactui'es 
in I'rance. 

"The Emperor," said Napoleon, "had broixght them to a degree of pros- 
perity liitherto unknown, and which was scarcely credited in Europe, or even 
in France. This was- a subject of wonder to foreigners on their arrival. Tlie 
Abbe de ]\Iontcsquieu Avas constantly expressing his astonishment at this cir- 
cumstance, the proofs of which he had in his own hands when he became 
minister of the interior. The Emperor was the first individual in France 
who said, '■Agriculture Jird, manufactures next, and, finally, trade, which 
must arise o^it of the superabundance of the two first.'' Pie also defined 
and put into practice, in a clear and connected way, the systems most con- 
ducive to the interests of our manufacturers and merchants. To him we were 
indebted for the cultivation of sugar, indigo, and cotton. He offered a re- 
ward of $200,000 to the individual who should discover a method of spin- 
ing flax like cotton, and he doubted not that this discovery would have been 
made. The fatality of circumstances alone prevented this grand idea from 
being carried into execution. 

" The old aristocracy — those enemies to our prosperity — exhausted all 
their wit in stupid jokes and frivolous caricatures on these subjects. But 
the English had no cause to laugh. They felt the blow, and have not yet 
recovered from it." 



1816, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 225 

A short time before dinner, the Emperor sent for Las Casas to attend him 
in his chamber. He was very unwell, and could converse but little. The 
turn of the conversation led him to express his surprise at the contrast be- 
tween the character of the mind and the expression of the countenance which 
was observable in some individuals. 

" This, proves," said he, "that we must not judge of a man by his face. 
We can know him only by his conduct. What countenances have I had to 
judge of in the course of my life ! What odd examples of physiognomy 
have come under my observation ! And what rash opinions have I heard on 
this subject ! Thus I invariably made it a rule never to be influenced either 
by features or by words. Still, however, it must' be confessed that we some- 
times find curious resemblances between the countenance and the character. 
For instance, on looking at the face of our inonseigneur the governor, who 
would not recognize the features of a tiger-cat f I will mention another in- 
stance. There was a man in my service who was employed about my per- 
son. I liked him very much, but was obliged to dismiss him because I sev- 
eral times caught him with his hands in my pockets. He committed his 
thefts too impudently. Let any one look at this man, and they must admit 
that he has a raagjne's eye.'''' 

While they were conversing on the subject of physiognomy, Las Casas 
remarked that Mirabeau, speaking of Pastoret's face, said, " It is a compound 
of the tiger and the calf, but the calf predominates." At this the Emperor 
laughed heartily, and said it was strictly true. 

He dined alone in his chamber. About ten o'clock in the evening he sent 
again for Las Casas. The Emperor was reclining upon the sofa, with many 
books scattered around him. He began to read Racine's Alexander, of which 
he expressed his dislike. He afterward took up Andromache, which was one 
of his favorite pieces. 

3fay 28. The weather was exceedingly pleasant. The friends of the Em- 
peror u]-ged him to ride out on horseback, for his health was suffering from 
the want of exercise. 

"I can not consent," said he, "to ride backward and forward within the 
limits marked out to me. It is like being confined in a riding-school. I 
can not endure it." 

By much persuasion, however, they succeeded in inducing him to change 
his determination. They all accompanied him. On their return they passed 
in front of the English camp. This was the first time the Emperor had 
passed it. The soldiers immediately were thrown into commotion upon his 
approach. They abandoned their occupations, and formed themselves in a* 
line to salute the Emperor. Napoleon was gratified. He bowed pleasantly 
to them, and said to his companions, "What European soldier would not be 
inspired with respect at my approach ?" 

The Emperor was aware of the sentiments of respect with which the En- 
glish soldiers regarded him, and therefore had carefully avoided, in his usual 
rides, passing the English camp, lest he should be accused of wishing to ex- 
cite this enthusiasm. 

P 



226 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XtV. 

As the Emperor returned, lie saw some skittles which the servants had 
made for their own amusement. He ordered them to be brought, and played 
several games. He won a Napoleon and a halt" from Las Casas, which he 
threw to the servant who ran after the ball. 

May 29. At half past eight in the morning the Emperor went into the 
garden to enjoy the morning air. He sent for Las Casas, and the conversa- 
tion, which turned upon Corsica, was continued more than an hour. 

" Our native country," said he, "is always dear. Even St. Helena may 
have charms to those who are born here. Therefore' Corsica presents to 
me a thousand attractions. The scenery of the country is very grand, and 
islanders always present originality of character, for their situation tends to 
protect them from invasion, and precludes that perpetual intercourse with 
foreigners which is experienced in Continental states. The inhabitants of 
mountainous regions always possess a degree of energy and a turn of mind 
peculiar to themselves. The charms of my native country, from my early 
recollections, are to me superior to those of any other spot in the world. I 
think that the very smell of the earth would enable me to distinguish my 
native land, even were I conducted blindfold to her shores. There was in it 
something peculiar Avhich I have never observed elsewhere. Corsica was 
the scene of all my early attachments. I there passed the happy years of 
my childhood, freely roaming over the precipices, and among the hills and 
valleys. I recollect with pride that, when under twenty years of age, I ac- 
companied Paoli on a grand excursion to Porte Nuovo. Paoli's^ retinue was 
numerous. He was escorted by upward of five hundred of his followers on 
horseback. I rode by his side, and, as he went along, he pointed out to me 
the different positions and the places which had been the scenes of resistance or 
triumph during the war for Corsican liberty. He related to me all the partic- 
ulars of that glorious conflict, and on hearing the remarks and opinions which 
fell from his young companion's lips, he said, ' Oh, Napoleon ! there is noth- 
ing modern in your character. You are formed entirely on Plutarch's model.' 




BAY OF AJACCIO, CORSICA. 



1816, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 227 

" When Paoli manifested liis determination to surrender the island to the 
English, our family continued to head the French party, and had the fatal 
honor of Tbeing threatened, with a inarch of the inhabitants of the island — that 
is to say, we were attacked hy a levy in mass. Twelve or fifteen thousand 
peasants made a descent from the mountains of Ajaccio. The house occu- 
pied hy our family was pillaged and burned, and the vines and flocks were 
destroyed. Madam, surrounded by a few faithful friends, wandered for 
some time on the sea-shore, and was at length obliged to fly to France. 
Our family had always been much attached to Paoli, and he, in his turn, 
had professed particular respect toward Madam. It is, however, but just to 
remark, that he employed persuasion before he resorted to force. 

" ' Renounce this opposition,' said he. ' It will prove the ruin of yourself, 
your family, and your fortune. You will bring irreparable misery on your- 
self.' 

"But for the chances of the Revolution, we could never have recovered 
from our misfortunes. Madam, like another Cornelia, heroically replied that 
she, her children, and her relatives would only obey two laws, namely, those 
of duty and honor. Had old Archdeacon Lucien been living at that time, 
his heart would have bled at the idea of the danger of his sheep, goats, and 
cattle, and his prudence would not have failed to allay the storm. 

'■^Ifadam, the victim of her patriotism and her devotedness to France, ex- 
pected to be received at Marseilles as an emigrant of distinction, but there 
she scarcely found herself in safety. To her astonishment, she discovered 
that the sphit of patriotism existed only among the very lowest classes of 
the people. In my youth I wrote a history of Corsica, which I dedicated 
to the Abbe Raynal. This production gained for me some flattering com- 
pliments and letters from the abbe, who was the fashionable author of the 
day. 

" Paoli died in London at a very old age. He lived to see me First Con- 
sul and Emperor. I regret not having recalled him ; that would have been 
highly gratifying to me. Such an act would have been a real trophy of 
honor ; but my mind was absorbed in important affairs ; I rarely had time 
to indulge in personal feelings. 

"After my return in 1815, when Lucien arrived in Paris, Joseph advised 
me to appoint him Governor-general of Corsica. This measure was even de- 
termined upon. The importance and hurry of passing events alone prevent- 
ed its execution. If Lucien had gone to Corsica, he would still have re- 
mained master of the island, and what resources would it not have presented 
to our persecuted patriots ! To how many unfortunate families would not 
Corsica have afforded an asylum ! I perhaps committed a fault at the time 
of my abdication in not reserving to myself the sovereignty of Corsica, to- 
gether witli the possession of some millions of thq civil list, and in not hav- 
ing conveyed all my valuables to Toulon, whence nothing could have impeded 
my passage. In Corsica, I should have found myself at home. The whole 
population would have been, as it were, my own family. I might have dis- 
posed of every arm and of every heart. Thirty thousand, or even fifty thou- 



228 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. XIV. 



sand allied troops could not have subdued me. No sovereign in Europe 
would liave undertaken such a task. But it was precisely the happy security 
of the situation which deterred nie from availing myself of it. I would not 
have it said that, amid the wreck of the French people, which I plainly fore- 
saw, I alone had been dexterous enough to gain the port." 




PORTRAIT OF LUCIEil BONAPARTE, THE BROTHER OF NAPOLEON. 

Las Casas observed tliat, according to the general opinion, he might, 
in 1814, liave secured the possession of Corsica instead of the island of 
Elba. 

" Certainly I might," replied the Emperor, " and those who were well ac- 
quainted with the affairs of Fontainebleau will be surprised that I did not. 
I might then have resei-ved to myself whatever I pleased. Tlie humor of 
the moment led me to decide in favor of Elba. Had I possessed Corsica, it 
is probable tliat my return in 1815 would never have been thought of. Even 
at Elba, those whose interest it was to keep me there decreed my return by 
their own misgovernment and the non-fulfillment of the engagements which 
they had entered into with me." 

"We now," says Las Casas, "reminded the Emperor of his intention of 
riding on horseback, but he said he would rather walk and chat. He ordered 
his breakfast, after which we conversed for some time on the old court, the 



1816, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 229 

nobility wlio composed it, tlieir pretensions, and the king's equipages. All 
this was compared with what the Emperor had himself introduced." 

"I found great difficulty," continued Napoleon, "in forming the court 
which I established at the Tuileries. On my. arrival there, I Avas resolved 
to obliterate the recollection of the manners and conflicts of the period to 
which I had just succeeded. But I had hitherto passed my life in camps ; 
I had just returned from Egypt, and had left France when young and inex- 
perienced. I was a stranger to every one, and at first found this a source 
of great embarrassment. Lebrun acted as my guide during the first years 
of my consulship. Bankers and money-speculators were at that time per- 
sons of the first consequence. No sooner did I enter upon my functions 
than a host of these people crowded around me, and eagerly offered to ad- 
vance me considerable sums of money. This conduct, though seemingly 
dictated by generosity, was not, however, without interested views. They 
were, for the most part, men of bad character, and their offers were rejected. 
I had a natural dislike of men of this profession. I had laid down the firm 
determination to act upon other principles than those of the Directory. I 
was anxious that probity should become the mainspring and feature of my 
new government. I was also immediately surrounded by the wives of these 
money-lenders, who were all beautiful and elegant women. Indeed, a mon- 
ey-lender at that time seemed to regard it as indispensably necessary that his 
wife should be a woman of fascinating manners ; it was a circumstance that 
tended materially to assist his speculations. But the prudent Lebrun was 
at hand to direct the young Telemachus. It was resolved to exclude this 
sort of society from the Tuileries. It was, however, no such easy matter to 
assemble a suitable circle around me. Nobles were rejected in order to avoid 
giving offense to public opinion, and contractors were excluded with tlie view 
of purifying the morals of the new era. These two classes being shut out, 
of course no very distinguished society remained, and the Tuileries for some 
time presented a sort of magic lantern, very varied and changeable. 

"At Moscow, the viceroy Eugene happened to meet with some letters 
written by Princess Dolgoruki, who had been at Paris at the period alluded 
to. This correspondence gave a very favorable picture of the Tuileries. The 
princess observed that it was not precisely a court, nor yet exactly a camp, 
but something perfectly new in its kind. She added that the First Consul 
did not carry his hat under his arm, nor wear a dress sword by his side, but 
that he was nevertheless a swordsman. However, such is the effect of evil 
report, that, owing to some such expressions as these having been misrepre- 
sented to me. Princess Dolgoruki was very unjustly treated. I ordered her 
at that time to quit France. We thought her hostile to the principles of our 
government ; but we were, as it may be seen, mistaken. Madam Grant, the 
mistress of M. de Talleyrand — for he had not yet made her his wife — greatly 
contributed to alienate from us the regard of the Russians.* 

* The Emperor was determined that his court should exhibit a model of morality and decorum. 
His refusal to admit to his saloons the dishonored wife of Talleyrand nearly produced a rupture be- 
tween the Emperor and his renowned minister for foreign affairs. The following story is told of 



230 . NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. • [ChAP. XIV. 

" On my return from Elba, I experienced far less embarrassment in com- 
posing my court. It was, indeed, already formed by the ladies whom I term- 
ed my luidoics. These were ]\Iadam Duroc, Duchess of Istria ; Mesdames 
Eegnier, Lagrand, and all the other widows of my first generals. I told the 
princesses who consulted me on the method of recomposing their courts to 
follow my example. Nothing was more natural and proper. These ladies, 
though still young, were already experienced in the world, and among them 
were several beautiful and fascinating women. Most of them have now lost 
their fortunes. Some, I have been told, are remarried, and have changed 
their names ; so that of all the wealth and rank founded by me, no traces 
will perhaps remain. Even names will disappear. If this should really be 
the case, will it not afford ground for saying that, after all, there must have 
been a radical error in the selections I made ? But it will be all the worse 
for the parties themselves. They will by this means only fiirnish a triumph 
and a ground of insolence to the old aristocracy." 

"W© again," says Las Casas, "reminded the Emperor of his intended 
ride on horseback. We urged him not to neglect it, because we knew it to 
be absolutely necessary for his health ; but we could not prevail on him to 
leave the garden." 

"We are very well here," said he. "We will Jiave some tents pitched 
on this spot." 

" We began to talk," says Las Casas, " about the Faubourg St. Getmain, 
and the Hotel de Luynes, which the Emperor termed its cathedral. He de- 
scribed to us the cause of the banishment of Madam de Chevreuse." 

"I had frequently," said the Emperor, "threatened to visit her with tliis 
punishment, and for conduct of the most mischievous and insolent nature. 
One day, when urged to the utmost extremity, I addressed her as follows : 

*' ' Madam ! according to the feudal notions and doctrines entertained by 
you and your friends, you pretend to be the sovereigns of your estates. Now, 
on the same principle, I may style myself the sovereign lord of France. I 
may claim Paris as my village, and may banish from it every individual who 
is obnoxious to me. I judge you by your own laws. Leave Paris, and nev- 
er venture to return.' 

*' On decreeing her exile, I was firmly resolved never to be prevailed on to 
recall her, because I had endured much before I decreed her punisliment, 
and I found myself compelled to set an example of severity, to spare the ne- 
cessity of repeating it on others. This was one of my grand principles." 

"I have frequently visited," said Las Casas, "the Hotel de Luynes, and 
I was well acquainted with Madam de Chevreuse and her mother-in-law, for 
whom I always entertained a great regard. As for Madam de Chevreuse, 
who was a pretty, intelligent, and amiable woman, with a somewhat roman- 
tic turn of mind, she had doubtless been seduced by the charms of notoriety, 

this lady : M. Je Talleyrand having one day invited M Denon, the celebrated traveler, to dine with 
him, told his wife to read the w^ork of their guest, indicating its place in his library. Madam de 
Talleyrand unluckily got hold, by mistake, of the adventures of Robinson Crusoe, which she ran 
over in great haste, and at dinner began to question Denon about his shipwreck, his island, and 
finally about his man Friday. 



1816, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 231 

or urged on by her numerous flatterers and admirers, some of whom were lit- 
tle worthy of her regard." 

"I know it, " added the Emperor. " She hoped to recommence the Fronde. 
But I was not a minor sovereign." 

The Emperor retired with Las Casas to his room. A ship had recently 
arrived from England, hringing European journals. He began to read the 
Journal des Debats. The grand marshal brought in a letter for the Em- 
peror. Sir Hudson Lowe had broken the seal, that he might first peruse its 
contents. The Emperor received the letter, read it over once, and sighed 
heavily. He then read it over again, looked at the seal which Sir Hudson 
Lowe had insolently broken, and then tore the letter into fragments and 
threw them under the table. In silence he resumed the perusal of the jour- 
nal. Suddenly stopping, he turned to Las Casas and said, 

" That letter is from poor Madam ; she is well, and wishes to come and 
reside with me at St. Helena." 

"After this," says Las Casas, "he continued his reading. This, which 
was the first letter that the Emperor had received from any individual of his 
family, was in the handwriting of Cardinal Fesch. The Emperor was evi- 
dently much hurt by its having been delivered to him with the seal broken." 

2fay 30. At two o'clock the Emperor laid aside his dictation, and walked 
out into the garden, accompanied by Las Casas, Gourgaud, Bertrand, and 
Montholon. One of the French journals had stated that the Bourbons con- 
templated erecting statues to the memory of Moreau and Pichegru. 

"A statue to Moreau," said the Emperor, "whose conspiracy in 1803 is 
now so well proved! Moreau, who in 1813 died fighting under the Rus- 
sian standard ! A monument to the memory of Pichegru, who was guilty of 
one of the most heinous of crimes 1 who purposely suffered himself to be 
defeated, and who connived with the enemy in the slaughter of his own 
troops! But, after all," continued the Emperor, "history is only made up 
of reports which gain credit by repetition. Because it has been repeatedly 
affirmed that these were great men, who deserved well of their country, they 
will at length pass for such, and their adversaries will be despised." 

The Emperor then entered quite at length into the celebrated conspiracy 
of the Bourbons for his assassination, in which Moreau and Pichegru were 
implicated with the inflexible desperado Georges Cadoudal. 

"The man who first made the confessions," said Napoleon, "indicated, 
though without naming him, a person to whom Georges and the other lead- 
ers of the conspiracy never spoke without taking off their hats, and whom 
they treated with the utmost consideration and respect. It was at first sup- 
posed that this individual must have been the Duke de Berri. Some, how- 
ever, concluded him to have been the Duke d'Enghien, during his momenta- 
ry appearance. Charles d'Hosier, one of the conspirators, unexpectedly drew 
aside the veil. A few days after his arrest, he was seized with a fit of mel- 
ancholy and hanged himself in prison. The alarm was, however, given, and 
he was cut down. Stretched on his bed, and while yet struggling between 
life and death, he vented repeated imprecations on Moreau, and accused him 



232 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. XIV. 

of having treacherously seduced many well-disposed men, and held out to 
them promises of assistance which he never realized. He likewise mentioned 
the names of Georges and Pichegru. This was the first circumstance which 
excited suspicion against these two men ; there was previously no idea of 
either of them having been engaged in the conspiracy. 

" This event created a great sensation. The public mind was wrought up 
to a high pitch of fermentation. Doubts were entertained of the truth of the 
statement made by the government respecting the extent of the conspiracy 
and the number of the conspirators. Of the latter, it was affirmed that there 
were about forty in Paris. Their names Avere published, and the First Con- 
sul pledged his honor to secure them. He summoned Bessieres, and gave 
orders that he, with his corps, should surround and guard the walls of Paris. 
For the space of six weeks nobody was suffered to quit the capital Avithout 
special permission ; a general gloom prevailed through Paris ; but every day 
the Moniteur announced the arrest of one or two of the individuals who, it 
was alleged, were concerned in the conspiracy. Public opinion took a turn 
in my favor, and indignation against the conspirators increased in proportion 
as they were secured. Not one escaped. 

"The public papers of the period' detail the particulars of the aiTest of 
Georges, who killed two men before he could be secured. It appears that 
he was betrayed by his comrade, who drove the cabriolet inwhich they were 
both riding. 




!t ^1 



3 1 P 1 *i'1n 

^1 r^u ;! 




AKREST OF GEORGES CADOUDAL. 



"As to Pichegru, he was the victim of the basest treachery. This cir- 
cumstance was tnily a disgrace to human nature. lie was sold by his inti- 
mate friend — by a man whom I will not name, on account of the horror and 
disgust which his conduct is calculated to excite. This man, who was for- 
merly a military officer, and who has since followed the business of a mer- 



1816, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 233 

chant at Lyons, offered to deliver up Pichegru for one hundred thousand 
crowns. On the day on which he made this proposition, he stated that they 
had, on the preceding evening, supped together, and that Pichegru, finding 
himself every day alluded to in the Moniteur, and being aware that the crit- 
ical moment was fast approaching, said, 

" 'If I and a few other generals were boldly to present ourselves to the 
troops, should we not gain them over ?' 

" 'No,' replied his friend. 'You form a wrong idea of the state of feel- 
ing in France. You would not gain over a single soldier.' 

" He spoke truly. At night the faithless friend conducted the officers of 
the police to Pichegru's door, and he gave them a minute description of his 
chamber and of his means of defending himself. Pichegru had pistols on his 
bed-room table, and he kept a light burning while he slept. The officers 
gently unlocked the door by means of the false keys which the treacherous 
friend had procured for them, the table "was overturned, the candle was ex- 
tingaished, and the officers seized Pichegru, who immediately jumped out of 
bed. He was a very pow^erful man. He struggled desperately, and it was 
found necessary to bind him and convey him to prison without waiting till 
he could be dressed. 

" On being placed at the head of the government, the First Consul was 
extremely anxious to tranquillize the western departments. He summoned 
nearly all the leading men of those districts, and succeeded in rousing sev- 
eral of them to a sense of the interests and glory of their country. He even 
drew tears from the eyes of some. Georges had his turn among the rest. 
The First Consul endeavored to touch every fibre of his heart. He passed 
over all the chords, but could produce no vibration. He found him lost to 
every generous feeling, and coldly intent on his own ambitious calculations. 
He persisted in his determination to command his cantons. The Consul, 
having exhausted every conciliatory argument, at length assumed tlie lan- 
guage of the first magistrate of France. He dismissed him, and recommend- 
ed him to go home, and live quietly and submissively ; and, above all, not 
to mistake the nature of the course he had that moment adopted, nor to at- 
tribute to feebleness what was only the result of his moderation and the 
consciousness of his power. He desired him to repeat to himself, and to all 
who were connected with him, that so long as the First Consul should hold 
the reins of authority, there would be no chance of safety for any who might 
dare to engage in conspiracy. Georges took his leave, but, as the event 
proved, not without having imbibed from this conference a feeling of respect 
for Napoleon, on whose destruction, however, he still continued bent. 

" Moreau was the rallying-point and the centre of attraction to the con- 
spirators who came from London to attack Paris. It appeared that Lajollais, 
his aid-de-camp, had deceived these men by addressing them in the name of 
Moreau, and telling them that the general was secure of popular favor through- 
out the whole of France, and could dispose of the Avhole army. Moreau con- 
stantly assured them that he could command no one, not even his aid-de- 
camp, but that if they killed the First Consul, they might do any thing. 



234 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ClIAP. XIV. 

Moreau, -when left to liiniselt", -was a very good sort of man. He Avas easily 
led, and this aceounts for his ineonsisteneies. lie left the palaee in raptures, 
and returned to it full of spleen and malice, having in the interim seen his 
mother-in-law and Avife. The First Consul, who would have been very glad 
to have o-aiued him over to his side, once made it up with him completely ; 
but their friendship lasted only foiu- days. The Consul then vowed that he 
would never renew it. In fact, attempts were afterward frequently made to 
reconcile them, but Xapoleon never Avould agree to it. He foresaw that j\Io- 
reau woidd commit some fault — that he woidd lose himself, and certainly he 
could not have done so in a Avay more advantageous to the First Consul. 

'' Some days previous to the battle of Lei}isie, some carriages, containing 
propertv and papers belonging to jMoreau, which were on their Avay to his 
widow in England, were intercepted at Wittemburg. .\mong those papers 
there Avas a letter from ]\ladam ]Moreau herself, in which she advised her hus- 
band to lav aside his silly, Avavering conduct, and to come boldly to a dcterm' 
ination. She urged him to assist in the triumph of the legitimate cause — 
that of the Bourbons. In ansA\-er to this, ]\loreau AAU'ote, a fcAV days before 
liis death, beiro-inc; her not to trouble him with her chimeras. ' I have come 
near enough to France,' said he, ' to know all that is going forward there. I 
liaA'C got into a tnxe Avasp's nest." 

"• The Fmperor Avas on the point of publishing these intercepted papers in 
the ]\Ioniteur ; but there still existed in France some persons blindly tenacious 
of the opinion they had ahvays maintained of IMoreau, and Avho persisted in 
regarding him as a victim to tyranny. The counter-re\'olution had not yet 
aftbrded an opportunity of making known those acts hitherto disavoAved, and 
of claiming their recom}>ense. The circumstance of personal enmity prevent- 
ed the Emperor from executing his intention. He thought it Avould not be 
becoming to rcAUA'e this enmity for his OAvn advantage, and to tarnish the 
memorA- of a man Avho had just fallen on the field of battle. 

"• The trial of ]Moreau and I'ichegru, Avhich AA'as protracted for such a length 
of time, violently agitated the public mind. AVhat added to the notoriety 
and interest of this trial AA'as its connection Avith the ailair of the Puke d'Fn- 
cchien, Avith Avliich it became interAvoven. 

"I have," continued the Emperor, "been reproached with haA-ing com- 
mitted a great fault in that trial. It has been compared Avith the affair of 
the necklace, in the reign of Louis XVI., AA-hich that monarch put into the 
hands of Parliament, instead of having it jiidged by a connnittee. Politicians 
haA'e athrmed that I should ha\'e contented myself Avith consigning the crim- 
inals to the judgment of a military committee. It Avould have been ended 
in ei<rht-and-fortA' hours. T could have done it: it Avas lecal, and nothing 
more Avould have been required of me.. I should ha\'e avoided the risks to 
Avhich I AA-as exposed. But I felt my poAver so unlimited, and I was, at the 
same time, so strong in the justice of my cause, that I aatvs determined the 
afiair should be open to the observation of the Avholc Avorld. For this reason, 
the embassadors and agents of foreign poAvers were present during the pro- 
ceedings." 



1816, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 235 

One of tlie company present here observed to the Emperor that the course 
he then adopted had proved advantageous to history, and honorable to his 
own character. It had furnished three volumes of authentic documents re- 
lating to the trial. 

Another individual of the Emperor's suite, who, at the time of this cele- 
brated trial, was with the army at Boulogne, said that all these events, even 
the affair of the Duke d'Enghien, had there excited but little interest, and 
that, on his return to Paris some time after, he was astonished to observe the 
sensation which they had created in the capital. 

"The public mind," the Emperor rejoined, "had indeed been highly ex- 
cited, jjarticularly on the occasion of the death of the Duke d'Enghien, which 
event still appears to be judged of in Europe with blindness and prejudice." 
He maintained his right of adopting the step he had taken, and enumerated 
the reasons which had urged him to do it. He then adverted to the many 
attempts that had been made to assassinate him, and observed that he was 
bound in justice to say that he had never detected Louis XYIII. in any di- 
rect conspiracy against his life, though such plots had been incessantly re- 
newed in other quarters. 

"If," continued he, "I had remained in France in 1815, I intended to 
have given publicity to some of the latter attempts that were made against 
me. The Maubreuil affair, in particular, should have been solemnly investi- 
gated by the first court of the Empire, and Europe would have shuddered to 
see to what an extent the crime of secret assassination could be carried."* 

May 31. "At five o'clock," says Las Casas, "I went to join the Emper- 
or in the garden. We were all assembled there. The conversation turned 
on politics. He described the melancholy situation of England amid her 
triumphs. He alluded to the immensity of her debt, the madness, the im- 
possibility of her becoming a Continental power, the dangers which assailed 
her Constitution, the embarrassment of her ministers, and the great clamor of 
the people. England, with her one hundred and fifty or two hundred thou- 
sand men, made as many efforts as he, the Emperor, had ever made during 
the period of his great pov/er, and perhaps even more. He had never em- 
ployed beyond five hundred thousand French troops. The traces of his Con- 
tinental system were followed by all the powers on the Continent, and would 
be pursued still farther in proportion as those powers became more settled. 
He did not hesitate to say, and he proved it, that England would have gained 
"Kyj remaining faithful to the treaty of Amiens ; that such a line of conduct 
would have been to the advantage of all Europe, but that Napoleon himself, 

* The Marquis of Maubreuil was so exultant at the downfall of Napoleon in 1814, that, it is said, 
he rode through the streets of Paris with the star of the Legion of Honor tied to his horse's tail. 
With an armed force he robbed the wife of Jerome Bonaparte "as she was traveling in her carriage 
to Germany, with a passport from the Allies. Being imprisoned for this offense, he published a 
letter to his judges declaring that he had been employed by the government to assassinate Napo- 
leon. This assertion he also repeated in a very severe letter to the embassadors of the allied pow- 
ers. He escaped from prison, and, meeting Talleyrand, beat him with great severity. On his trial 
for this offense, he accused Talleyrand of having been the cause of all his sufferings by ermploying 
him to assassinate Napoleon. Talleyrand has made no reply to this, and the mystery must now 
forever remain unexplained. 



230 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ClIAP. XIV. 

ami his o-lory, would have siift'erccl by it. Yet it was England, and not lie, 
Avlio broke the treaty." 

"There Avas only one covirse," the Emperor continued, ''lor England to 
pursue, namely, to return to her Constitution and abandon the military sys- 
tem : to interfere Avith the Continent only through her maritime influence, in 
which she is pre-eminent. It is easy to foresee that great eahimities will as- 
sail her should she adopt any other course ; but this she will inevitably do, 
because the folly, pride, or Acnality of her present ministry causes her to per- 
sist in the system she has been pursuing.'' 

The conversation being concluded, the Emperor returned to his study, and 
desired Las Casas to follow him. 

"A letter,"' said the Ihnperor, '"has been sent to me from England by 
post. It is reported that the gmernor has refused to deliver it, because it 
was not addressed to him othcially. It is also said that a letter for General 
Bertrand has been detained for the same reason. If this is true, there is 
something peculiarly cruel in the conduct of the gOAcrnor in having sent back 
the letters Avithout even mentioning them to us, and Avithout aifordingus the 
consolation of knoAving from Avhom tliey came. A neglect of form might 
easily be corrected in the island. It can not so easily be done at two thou- 
sand leagues" distance." 

"I told the Emperor," says Las Casas, "that a circumstance nearly sim- 
ilar to that Avhich ho luul just mentioned had occurred to me eight or ten days 
back. A person Avho Avas on his AA'ay to Europe had tormented mcAvith his 
offers of service. I yielded to his solicitations, and connnissioned him to or- 
der n»e some shoes, and to get a Avatch changed for me, for there is no person 
here Avho knoAVS hoAv to repair a Avatch. The governor has forbidden the ex- 
ecution of those commissions because they Avere not addressed to himself. I 
have said nothing on the subject to any one, sire, because it is a principle Avith 
me to conceal an insult for Avhicli I can not obtain redress. But I shall 
find an opportunity to tell tlic gOA^ernor my mind. In the mean time, neither 
he nor the person to Avhom I gaA^e the commission haA'c been able to draAV 
from me a line or a single Avord, though the latter has made scA'eral attempts 
to do so."' 

"■ After dinner," says Las Casas, " the Emperor, couA-ersing on our situ- 
ation and the conduct of the governor, avIio came to-day and took a rapid cir- 
cuit round I^ongAvood, reverted to the subject of the last intervicAV they had 
had togetlicr, and made some striking observations respecting it." 

"I behaved A'cry ill to him, no doubt," said the Emperor, "and notliing 
but my present situation could excuse me. But I Avas out of humor, and 
could not help it. I should blusli for it in any other situation. Had such 
a scene taken place at the Tuileries, I should have felt myself bound in con- 
science to make some atonement. Never, during the period of my power, 
did T speak harshly to any one Avithout afterward saying something to make 
amends for it ; but here I uttered not a syllable of conciliation, and I had no 
wish to do so. HoAvever, the governor proved himself A^ery insensible to my 
severity. His delicacy did not seem Avoundcd by it. I should have liked, 



1816, June.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 237 

for his sake, to have seen him evince a little anger, or shut the door violently 
as he went out. This would, at least, have shown that there was some 
spring and elasticity about him ; but I found nothing of the kind." 

"The Emperor then again," says Las Casas, "resumed his conversation 
on political affairs, which he maintained with so much spirit and interest that 
I could have forgotten for a time what part of the world I was in. I could 
have believed myself still at the Tuileries or in the Rue de Bourgogne." 



CHAPTER XV. 

1816, June. 



Voltaire — Characteristic Difference between the English and the French — Affected Anger of the 
Emperor — Reflections on the Governor — Expenses of the Emperor's Household at the Tuileries 
— Finance — Dictation resumed — Mihtary Schools — ^Female Schools^Gil Bias — General Biza- 
net — Religious Opinions — Portraits of the Directors — Anecdotes — 18th Fructidor. 

June 1. The Emperor remained in the bath three hours, engaged in read- 
ing Rousseau's New Eloise. At the Briers, where he first looked into this 
work, he expressed himself charmed with it ; but now, after a more careful 
perusal, he condemned it with unsparing severity. 

"The high estimate," said he, "which has been formed in France of the 
English character, is to be ascribed to the noble character given by Rousseau 
to Lord Edward, and to the impression produced by some of Voltaire's plays. 
The facility with which public opinion was governed in those days is sur- 
prising. Voltaire and Rousseau, who then guided public opinion as they 
pleased, would not, I think, be able to do so at the present time. Voltaire, 
in particular, exerted so powerful an influence over his contemporaries, and 
was considered the great man of the age, only because all around him were 
pigmies. 

"The higher classes among the English," said he, "are proud; with us, 
unfortunately, they are only vain. In that consists the great characteristic 
distinction between the two nations. The mass of the people in France cer- 
tainly possess a greater share of national feeling than any other now existing 
in Europe ; they have profited by the experience of their twenty-five years' 
Revolution. But, unfortunately, that class which the Revolution has ad- 
vanced have not been found equal to the station of life to which they have 
been elevated. They have shown themselves corrupt and unstable. In the 
last struggles they have not been distinguished either by talents, firmness, or 
virtue. In short, they have degraded the honor of the nation. " 

The Emperor read a speech of Chateaubriand on the propriety of allowing 
the clergy to inherit. 

"It is an academical oration," said he, " rather than the opinion of a legis- 
lator. It has wit, but shows little judgment, and contains no views what- 
ever. Allow the clergy to inherit, and nobody will die without being obliged 
to purchase absolution ; for, whatever our opinions may be, we none of us 
know where we go on leaving this world. Then must we remember our last 



1 



238 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChaP. XV. 

and final account, and no one can pronounce what his feelings will be at his 
last hour, nor answer for the strength of his mind at that awful moment. 
Who can affirm that I shall not die in tlie arms of a confessor, and that he 
Avill not make me acknowledge myself guilty of tlie evil I shall not have done, 
and implore forgiveness for it ?" 

In this connection, Las Casas mentions one or two anecdotes illustrative 
of the character of the Emperor. 

*'The Emperor Avould often censure whole bodies," he says, "in the per- 
son of one individual, and, in order to strike with greater awe, he did it in 
the most solenni and imposing manner. But the anger Avhich he sometimes 
showed in public, and of which so much has been said, was only feigned and 
put on for the moment. The Emperor affirmed that by such means he had 
often deterred many from the connnission of a faidt, and spared himself the 
necessity of punishing. 

" One day, at one of liis grand audiences, he attacked a colonel with the 
utmost vehemence, and quite in a tone of anger, upon some slight disorders 
of which his regiment had been guilty toward tlie inhabitants of the country 
they had passed through in returning to France. During the reprimand, the 
colonel, thinking the punishment out of all proportion to the fault of which 
he was accused, repeatedly endeavored to excuse himself; but the Emperor, 
Avithout interrupting his speech, said to liim, in an under tone, ' Very well, but 
say nothing; I believe you; be tranquil.' AVhen he afterward saw him in 
private, he said to him, 

" ' AVhcn I thus addressed you, I was chastening, in your person, certain 
generals whom I saw near you, and who, had I spoken to them direct, wovdd 
have been found deserving of the lowest degradation, and perhaps of some- 
thing worse.' 

" But it sometimes happened, also, that the Emperor was publicly appealed 
to. I have witnessed several instances of this kind. Once, at St. Cloud, at 
a grand audience, which was held on each Sunday, a public officer of Pied- 
mont, Avho was standing by my side, addressed the Emperor in a loud tone 
of voice and with the utmost emotion, calling for justice, asserting that he had 
been falsely accused, and unjustly condemned and dismissed from the service. 

*' 'Apply to my ministers,' answered the Emperor. 

" ' No, sire," said he, ' I wish to be judged by you.' 

" ' That is impossible,' the Emperor replied ; ' my time is wholly absorbed 
with the general interests of the empire, and my ministers are appointed to 
take into consideration the particular causes of individuals.' 

" ' But they will condemn me,' said the officer ; ' for every body is agamst 
me.' 

" ' Why ?' inquired the Emperor. 

" 'Because I love you,' said the officer: 'to love you, sire, is a sufficient 
motive to inspire every one with hatred.' 

" The Emperor Avith the utmost calmness replied, ' This is rather a strange 
assertion, sir; but I am willing to hope that you are mistaken.' And he 
passed on to the next person. 



1816, June.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 239 

" On another occasion, also, on the parade, a young officer stepped out of the 
ranks, in extreme agitation, to complain that he had been ill used, slighted, 
and passed over, and that he had been five years a lieutenant without being 
able to obtain promotion. 

" 'Calm yourself,' said the Emperor; 'I was seven years a lieutenant, 
and yet you see that a man may push himself forward for all that.' 

"Every body laughed, and the young officer, suddenly cooled by those 
words, returned to his place. 

" It may be observed as a general principle, that however violent the Em- 
peror's actions might appear, they were always the result of calculation." 

" When one of my ministers," said the Emperor, " or some other great per- 
sonage, had been guilty of a fault of so grave a nature that it became abso- 
lutely necessary for me to be very angry, I always took care, in that case, to 
have a third person present to witness the scene which was to ensue ; for it 
was a' general axiom with me, that, when I had resolved to strike a blow, it 
must be felt by many at the same time. The immediate object of my re- 
sentment did not feel more incensed against me on that account, and the by- 
stander, whose embarrassed appearance was highly ludicrous, did not fail to 
nin and . circulate most discreetly, as far as he could, all he had seen and 
heard. A salutary terror ran thus, from vein to vein, through the body so- 
cial ; a new impulse was given to the march of affiiirs ; I had less to punish, 
and a great deal of public good was obtained without inflicting much private 
hardship." 

June 2. At eight o'clock in the morning the Emperor rode out on horse- 
back, and, calling at the house of Madam Bertrand, made a long visit. He 
appeared to be in very cheerful spirits. With infinite humor, he alluded to 
the ridiculous behavior of the governor toward his prisoners ; to his paltry 
measures, his total want of consideration, the absurd manner in which he 
conducted the affairs of the government of the island, and his total ignorance 
of the business and the manners of life. 

"We had certainly some reason," said he, "to complain of the admiral; 
hut he, dX least, was an Englishman, and this man is nothing but a constable 
of Italy. We have not the same manners. We can not understand each 
other. Our feelings do not speak the same language. He probably can not 
conceive, for instance, that heaps of diamonds would be insufficient to atone 
for the affront he has offered in causing one of my domestics to be arrested 
almost in my presence. Since that day, aU my household are in consterna- 
tion." 

Returning from the ride, the Emperor breakfasted in the garden. In the 
afternoon he took a short ride in the calash. The conversation led to some 
details respecting the Emperor's household at the Tuileries. " Two hundred 
thousand dollars were allowed for the table, and yet the exjDcnses of the Em- 
peror's own table did not exceed twenty dollars a day. It had never been 
found possible to. manage to give him his dinner hot, for, when once engaged 
in his closet, it was impossible to know when he would leave it. Therefore, 
when the hour of dinner arrived, a fowl was put on the spit for him every 



240 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XV. 

half hour. It has at times happened that some dozen have been roasted before 
that which lias finally been set before him." 

The conversation then turned upon the importance of a skillful adminis- 
tration of the finances. 

"M. Mollicn and M. Labouillerie, " said the Emperor, "exhibited talent? 
of the highest order in that branch. M. Mollien, in particular, had put the 
treasury on the footing of a simple banking-house. I had continually under 
my eyes, in a small book for that purpose, a complete statement of the rev- 
enue, the receipt, expenditure, arrears, and resources. I had in my cellars 
at the Tuileries as much as four hundred millions of francs in gold, which 
were entirely my own property, so much so that no other account of it exist- 
ed but in a small book in the hands of my private treasurer. All this treas- 
ure disappeared by degrees, and was applied to the expenses of the Empire, 
particularly at the time of our disasters. How could I think of keeping any 
thing for myself ? I had identified myself with the nation. I had sent two 
thousand millions of specie into France, without taking into account what 
private individuals may have brought. 

" I was, however," continued the Emperor, "much hurt at the conduct of 
M. Labouillerie, who, being at Orleans in 1814, in charge of several millions 
belonging to me, my own private property, took them to the Count d'Artois 
in Paris instead of carrying them to Fontainebleau, as he was in duty and 
in conscience bound to do. And yet Labouillerie Avas not a bad man. I 
had both loved him and esteemed him. On my return in 1815, he earnestly 
entreated me to see him and hear what lie had to say in his own defense. 
He, no doubt, would have proved tliat his fault ftrose from his ignorance and 
not from his heart. He knew me. He was aware that, if he could approach 
me, the aftair would liaA^e been settled with a few angry expressions on my 
part. But I also knew my own weakness. I was resolved not to take him 
into my service again, and therefore refused to admit him. It was the only 
way in Avhieli I could hope, at that moment, to hold out against him and 
several others. Esteve, the predecessor of Labouillerie, would not have act- 
ed in that manner. He was entirely devoted to my person. He would have 
brought my treasure to Fontainebleau at all hazards, or, if he had failed in 
the endeavor, he would have thrown it into a river, or distributed it in vari- 
ous places ratlier than give it up." 

June 4. At four o'clock the Emperor sent for Las Casas and rode out in 
the calash. 

"I have at last," said the Emperor, "commenced dictating again, and 
what I have done will not be found devoid of interest. During the whole 
morning I was very much out of humor. At one o'clock I attempted to go 
out, but found myself compelled to return to the house, pursued by disgust 
and ennui. Not knowing what to do, I thought of resuming my dictations." 

For many weeks the Emperor had ceased to apply himself regularly to 
this occupation. Various circumstances had concurred to cause interruptions. 

"I took advantage of what he had just said," Las Casas observes, "to 
represent to him that to dictate was for him the surest, the only remedy against 



1816, June.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 241 

ennui ; tlie only way in which he could beguile the tedious hours, and for us 
the means of obtaining the inestimable advantage of being put in possession 
of treasures in the existence of which the honor and glory of France were 
equally interested. The Emperor replied that he would continue his mem- 
oirs, and consulted me as to the plan to be followed." 

At the dinner-table the Emperor said playfully, "I have to.-day been se- 
verely reprimanded on account of my idleness ; I am, therefore, going to take 
to my task again, and embrace several periods at the same time. Each of 
you shall have his share. Did not Herodotus give to his books the names 
of the Muses ? I intend that each of mine shall bear the name of one of you. 
Even little Immanuel shall give his to one of them. I will begin the history 
of the Consulate with Montholon ; Gourgaud shall record the events of some 
other period, or detached battles ; and little Immanuel shall prepare the docu- 
ments and materials necessary to commemorate the period of the coronation."' 

June 5. It was a fine afternoon, and, though the Emperor felt very un- 
well, he rode out with some of his friends in the calash. Las Casas made 
some remarks upon the luxurious arrangements of the military school at Par- 
is before the Revolution. 

"I was anxious," said the Emperor, "to avoid falling into this en-or. I 
wished, above all, that my young officers, who were one day to command 
soldiers, should begin by being soldiers themselves, and learn by experience 
all the technical details of the service ; a system of education which must ever 
prove an immense advantage to an officer in the course of his future career, 
by enabling him to watch over and enforce the observance of those details in 
others who are placed under his orders. It was according to this principle 
that at St. Germain the young students were obliged to groom their own- 
horses, and were taught to shoe them. This same spirit presided over the 
regulations at St. Cyr. There several pupils were made to lodge together in 
one large apartment, and a common mess was provided for all indiscriminately. 
Yet the attention paid to these particulars was not suffered to interfere with 
the care bestowed upon the instruction necessary to qualify them for their 
future career. In short, they did not leave St. Cyr before they had really 
earned the rank of officer, and were found capable of leading and command- 
ing soldiers ; and it must be admitted, that if the young men who passed 
from that institution at its origin into different corps of the army were at 
first viewed with jealousy, ample justice was soon rendered to their discipline 
and to their abilities." 

Napoleon established at Ecouen, St. Denis, and other places, institutions 
■^o be conducted on similar principles for the daughters of the members of 
lie Legion of Honor. Many of the regulations for these institutions were 
drawn up by his own hand, and he marked out the course of study. He or- 
dered that all the articles of female manufacture, for the use of each institu- 
tion, should be made in the house, and by the pupils themselves. He for- 
bade all luxury and extravagance in dress and amusements. "I wish," 
said he, " to make them virtuous and useful women. They will then be 
sufficiently agreeable." 

Q 



242 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XV. 

" Public opinion," says Las Casas, " had given to Napoleon, at the time 
of his elevation, the reputation of a man of harsh disposition, and one void of 
sensibilitv, yet it is certain that no sovereign ever acted more from the im- 
pulse of genuine feeling than he did. He had adopted all the children of the 
officers and soldiers killed at Austerlitz ; and with him, such an act would 
not have been one of inere form. He Avould have provided for them all." 

In the evening, the Kmperor again ;?ent for Las Casas. It Avas a chill and 
gloomv hoiir. A few sticks of wood, blazing upon the hearth, dimly illu- 
minated the narrow apartment with Hickcring light. The Emperor sat in his 
arm-chair before the fire, silent and dejected. As Las Casas entered, he 
said to him, " This darkness is in harmony Avith my melancholy." Gradu- 
all}', hoAvcver, he entered into conversation. The habits of society in former 
times, and those of the present, Avere passed in revicAV. 

*'I had thought much and often," said the Emperor, "upon the means of 
introducing variety into the pleasures of society. I had assemblies at court, 
plays, journeys to Eontaincblcau, but tliey only produced the effect of incon- 
veniencing the people at court, Avithout inlluencing the circles of the metrop- 
olis. There Avas not yet a sufficient degree of adhesion in the heterogeneous 
parts to alloAv them to react upon each other Avitli due effi>ct : but this Avould 
have been brought about in course of time. It Avas observed to me that I 
had contributed much to sliortcn the evenings at Paris, as all persons em- 
ployed by government, luiAang a great deal to do, and being obliged to rise 
very early, Avere under the necessity of retiring early. It caused, hoAvever, 
great surprise in Paris, produced quite a revolution in manners, and almost 
stirred up a sedition in the circles of tlie metropolis Avhen the First Consul 
required that boots sJiould be abandoned for stockings, and that some little 
care should be bestowed upon dress to appear in company." 

"The Emperor dwelt," says Las Casas, " Avith great pleasure upon the 
causes of the o-ood-breedino; and amiable manners Avhich distiniiuished societA- 
in our younger days. He defined particularly those points Avliich contrib- 
uted to render intimacy agreeable, such as a slight tinge of flattery on both 
sides, or at least an ojjposition seasoned Avith delicacy and politeness." 

June I). The Emperor Avas quite uuAvell, and remained in his room all daA' 
without taking any food. Las Casas did not see him until six o'clock in the 
evening. " Dr. O'Meara, " said Napoleon, "hearing that I Avas not aa'cII, 
claimed me as his prey by immediately advising me to take some medicine 
— medicine to me, Avho, to the best of my recollection, ncA'cr took any in the 
whole com-se of my life ; " 

He had been reading, during the day, Gil Bias. " It is full of Avit," said 
he, "but the hero and all his companions deserved to be sent to the galleys." 

He then turned over a chronological register, and stopped at the brilliant 
affiiir of Bergen-oj)-Zoom, commanded by General Bizanet. 

" HoAv many gallant actions," said the Emperor, " liave been eitlier forgot- 
ten in the confusion of our disasters, or OA^erlooked in the number of our ex- 
ploits ! The affair of Bergen-op-Zoom is one of these. A competent garri- 
son for that tOAvn would have been, probably, from eight to ten thousand men. 



1816, June.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 243 

But it did not then contain more than two thousand seven hundred. An 
English general, favored by the darkness of the night, and by the inteUigence 
which he had kept up with the inhabitants, had succeeded in penetrating 
into it at the head of four thousand eight hundred chosen men. They are in 
the town, the inhabitants are on their side, but nothing can triumph over 
French valor. A desperate engagement takes place in the streets, and near- 
ly the whole of the English troops are killed or remain prisoners. That is, 
undoubtedly, a gallant action. General Bizanet is a gallant officer." 

June 7. Dr. O'Meara breakfasted with Napoleon in the garden. They 
had a long medical argument, in which Napoleon maintained that his practice 
in case of sickness, namely, to eat nothing, drink plenty of barley-water and 
no wine, and ride for seven or eight leagues to promote perspiration, was far 
superior to the drugs of the apothecary. 

Some conversation ensued upon the mode of solemnizing marriage. Dr. 
O'Meara observed that in England, when a Protestant and Catholic were 
married, it was necessary that the ceremony should be performed first by a 
Protestant clergyman, and afterward by a Roman Catholic priest. 

"That is wrong," said the Emperor; "marriage ought to be a civil con- 
tract ; and on the parties going before a magistrate, in the presence of witness- 
es, and entering into an engagement, they should be considered as man and 
wife. This is what I caused to be done in France. If they wished it, they 
might go to the church afterward and get a priest to repeat the ceremony; 
but this ought not to be considered as indispensable. It was always my 
maxim that those religious ceremonies should never be above the laws, take 
the lead or upper hand [prendre Vessor). I also ordained that marriages 
contracted by French subjects in foreign countries, when performed accord- 
ing to the laws of those countries, should be valid on the return of the parties 
to France." 

June 7—8. During a long private conversation this morning, the Emperor 
passed in review all the horrors to which he and his companions were sub- 
jected in their present situation, and enumerated all the chances which hope 
suggested of better days. 

After having gone over these topics, he gave the rein to his imagination, 
and said, " The only countries in which I can reside for the future are En- 
gland and America. My inclination would lead me to America, because there 
I should be really free ; and independence and repose are all I now sigh for." 

Then followed an imaginary plan of life. He fancied himself with his 
brother Joseph, in the midst of a little France in the New World. 

"Yet policy," he observed, "might decide for England. I am bound, 
perhaps, to remain a slave to events. I owe the sacrifice of myself to a na- 
tion which has done more for me than I have done for it in return." Then 
followed another imaginary plan for the future. 

In the course of the subsequent conversation, the Emperor remarked, " I 
can not sufficiently express my surprise at the conviction which I have ob- 
tauied, that several of those who surrounded me, and formed my court, be- 
lieved the greatest part of the many absurdities and idle reports which had 



244 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XV. 

been circulated respecting me, and that they even went so far as to doubt 
the falseliood of the enormities with which my reputation has been stained ; 
such as, that I wore armor in the midst of my friends ; was addicted to the 
superstitions of forebodings and fatality ; that I was subject to iits of rage 
or of epilepsy ; that I had strangled Pichegru, and caused a poor English 
captain's throat to be cut." 

"We could not but admit," says Las Casas, "that his reproaches were 
merited. All we could allege in our defense was, that many circumstances 
had concun-ed to leave those who formerly surrounded his person as much 
in ignorance on the subject as the bulk of the nation could be. We fre- 
quently saw him, but we never held any communication with him. Every 
thing remained a mystery for us. Not a voice was raised to refute, while 
many in secret, and some that were nearest his person, either through per- 
verseness or with bad intentions, seemed ever busy in dealing out insinua- 
tions. As for myself, I candidly confessed that I had not formed a just idea 
of his disposition before I came here, although I could congratulate myself 
that I had certainly guessed." 

"And yet," said the Emperor, in reply, '■'■you have often seen me and 
heard me in the Council of State." 

In the evening, after dinner, the conversation turned upon religion. The 
Emperor dwelt upon the subject at length. The following is given by Las 
Casas as a faithful summary of his arguments : 

"Every thing," said Napoleon, "proclaims the existence of a God. That 
can not be questioned. But all our religions are evidently the work of men. 
Why are there so many ? Why has ours not always existed ? Why does 
it consider itself exclusively the right one ? What becomes, in that case, of 
all the virtuous men who have gone before us ? Why do these religions re- 
vile, oppose, exterminate one another? Why has this been the case ever 
and every where ? Because men are ever men ; because priests have ever 
and every where introduced fraud and falsehood. However, as soon as I 
had power, I immediately re-established religion. I made it the groundwork 
and foundation upon which I built. I considered it as the support of sound 
principles and good morality, both in doctrine and in practice. Besides, such 
is the restlessness of man, that his mind requires that soinethhig undefined 
and marvelous which religion offers ; and it is better for him to find it there 
than to seek it of Cagliostro, of Mademoiselle Lenormand, or of other sooth- 
sayers and impostors." 

Las Casas ventured to say, " It is possible that, in the end, you, sire, may 
become devout." 

"I fear not," the Emperor answered, with an air of deep seriousness; 
" and yet it is with regret that I say it, for faith is no doubt a great source of 
consolation. But my incredulity does not proceed from jDcrverseness or licen- 
tiousness of mind, but from the strength of my reason ; yet no man can an- 
swer for what will happen, particularly in his last moments. At present, I 
certainly believe that I shall die without a confessor, and yet there is such 
a one," pointing to one who was present, " who Avill, perhaps, receive my con- 



1816, June.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 245 

fession. I am assuredly veiy far from being an Atheist, but I can not believe 
all that I am taught, in spite of vaj reason, without being false and a hypo- 
crite. When I became emperor, and particularly after my marriage with 
Maria Louisa, every effort was made to induce me to go with great pomp, 
according to the custom of the kings of France, to take the sacrament at the 
church of Notre Dame ; but this I positively refused to do. I did not be- 
lieve in the act sufficiently to derive any benefit from it, and yet I believed 
too much in it to expose myself to commit a profanation." 

One of the company then alluded to a certain person who had boasted, as 
it were, that he had never taken his first communion. 

" That is very wrong," said the Emperor ; " either he has not fulfilled the 
intention of his education, or his education had not been completed." 

Then resuming the subject, he said, " To explain where I come from, what 
I am, and whither I go, is above my comprehension ; and yet all that is. I 
am like the watch, that exists without possessing the consciousness of exist- 
ence. However, the sentiment of religion is so consolatory that it must be 
considered as a gift from Heaven. What a resource would it not be for us 
here to possess it! What influence could men and events exercise over 
me, if, bearing my misfortunes as if inflicted by God, I expected to be com- 
pensated by him with happiness hereafter? What rewards have I not a 
right to expect, who have run a career so extraordinary, so tempestuous "as 
mine has been, without committing a single crime ; and yet how many might 
I not have been guilty of? I can appear before the tribunal of God, I can 
await his judgment without fear. He will not find my conscience stained 
with the thoughts of murder and poisonings, with the infliction of violent and 
premeditated deaths, events so common in the history of those whose lives 
have resembled mine. I have wished only for the glory, the power, the great- 
ness of France ; all my faculties, all my efforts, all my moments were directed 
to the attainment of that object. These can not be crimes ; to me they ap- 
peared acts of virtue. What, then, would be my happiness, if the bright pros- 
pect of futurity presented itself to crown the last moments of my existence ! " 

The Emperor paused for a . moment, and no one ventured to disturb his 
silent meditations ; then continuing the subject, he said, 

" How is it possible that conviction can find its way to our hearts when 
we hear the absurd language, and witness the acts of iniquity of the greater 
number of those whose business it is to preach to us ? I am surrounded by 
priests who repeat incessantly that their kingdom is not of this world, and 
yet they lay hands upon every thing that they can get. The Pope is the 
head of that religion from Heaven, and yet he thinks only of this world. 
What did the present chief pontiff, who is undoubtedly a good and a holy 
man, not offer to be allowed to return to Rome ! The surrender of the gov- 
ernment of the Church, of the institution of bishops, was not too high a price 
for him to give to become once more a secular prince. Even now he is the 
friend of all the Protestants, who grant him every thing because they do not 
fear him. He is only the enemy of Catholic Austria because her territory 
surrounds his own. 



246 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XV. 

"Nevertheless," contiuuoil Napoleon, "it can not be doubted that, as Em- 
peror, the species of incrctlulity which I I'clt Avas favorable to the nations 
which 1 had to govern. How could 1 have favored equally sects so opposed 
to one another, if I had been under the intluence of one of them? How 
could I have preserved the independence of my thoughts and actions under 
the control of a confessor A\ho Avould have governed me by the dread of hell ? 
AVhat }>owcr can not a Avicked man, the most stupid of mankind, thus exer- 
cise over those by whom whole nations are governed ? Is it not the scene- 
shifter at the Opera, who, from behind the scenes, moves Hercules at his will? 
Who can doubt that the last years of Louis XIV. would have been very dif- 
ferent had he been directed by another confessor ? I was so deeply impress- 
ed witli the truth of these opinions, that I promised to do all in my power 
to bring up my sou in the same religious persuasion Avhich I myself enter- 
tained." 

The Kmperor concluded this conversation by requesting Immamiel Las 
Casas to bring him the New Testament. Opening to the Savior's Sermon 
upon the JMount, he read it from the commencement to the close, expressing 
himself struck with the highest admiration at the purity, the sublimity, and 
the beauty of the morality which it contained. As the Emperor read these 
sublime passages with deep emotion, all his companions partook of his im- 
pressions. The mystery of life is so profound and impenetrable, tliat no 
man Avho thinks can escape moments of skepticism. Faith and unbelief will 
often vibrate like the pendulum. It Avill be seen that succeeding years of 
grief and meditation dispelled all doubts from the Emperor's mind, and led 
him to a full and living laith in Cln-istianity — a faith no longer fluctuating.* 

June i). It was a Sabbatli morning ; but there was no Sabbath bell and 
no church at St. Helena. The Emperor alluded to the creation of the Di- 
rectory, and passed hi review the portraits and character of the tive directors. 

"Barras," said he, "of a good tivmily of Provence, Avas an otficer in the 
reghnent of the Isle of France. At the Revolution he AA'as chosen deputy to 
the National Convention for the department of the Var. He had no talent 
for oratory, and no habits of business. After the 31st of May, he Avas, to- 
gether Avith Freron, appointed connnissioner to the army of Italy, and to 
Provence, Avhich Avas then the scat of civil Avar. On his return to Paris he 
tlu-CAV himself into the Thermidorian party. Threatened by Robespierre, as 
well as Tallien and the remainder oi l)anton's piirty, they united, and brought 

* The Abbe C'irc<xoiro says, "One inorning, when Napoleon was in the very erisis of his attempt 
to restore the Christian rehgion to France, I was called to Malmaison before sunrise. At that ear- 
ly hour the Emperor was walking in one of the alleys of the garden, earnestly discussing the sub- 
ject of the restoration of Christianity with the renowned unbeliever, Senator Volney. 

'• ' Yes, sir," said the Emperor to the senator, ' let men say what they will, religion is necessary 
for a people, and especially a belief in God. And when I say for a peoplt\ sir, I do not pretend to 
exclude mvself ;" and he extended his arms with a kind of enthusiastic inspiration to the sun, 
which, precisely at that instant, was rising above the horizon ; ' for nu/self,' he continued, in tones 
of deepest feeling, "in view of such a spectacle. I yield myself to be moved, to be captivated, to be 
convinced." And then, turning to the .ibbe. he continued, ' And you, sir, what do you say to thisV 
I could only reply," continues the abbe, " that such a spectacle was indeed calculated to give rise 
to the most serious and profound speculations." 



1816, June.] RESIDExNCE at long wood. 247 

about the events of the 9th Thermidor.* At the moment of the crisis, the 
convention named him to march against the comiiiune^ which had risen in 
favor of Robespierre. He succeeded. This event gave him great celebrity. 
After the downfall of Robespierre, all the Thermidorians became the leading 
men of France. 

"At the critical period of the 12th Vendemiaire,t it was determined, in 
order to get rid at once of the three commissioners to the army of the inte- 
rior, to unite in the person of Barras the power of commissioner and com- 
mander of that army ; but the circumstances in which he was placed were 
too much for him ; they were above his powers. BaiTas had no experi- 
ence m. war ; he had quitted the service when only a captain ; he had no 
knowledge of military affairs. The events of Thermidor and of Vendemi- 
aire brought him into the Directory. He did not possess the qualifications 
required to fill that situation, but he acted better than was expected from 
him by those who knew him. 

" He put his establishment on a splendid footing, kept a pack of hounds, 
and his expenses were considerable. When he went out of the Directory, 
on the 18th Brumaire,| he had still a large fortune, and he did not attempt 
to conceal it. That fortune was not large enough to have contributed in the 
least to the derangement of the finances, but the. manner in which it had been 
acquired, by favoring the contractors, impaired the morality of the nation. 

"Barras was tall. He spoke sometimes, in moments of agitation, and his 
voice filled the house. His intellectual capacity did not allow him to go be- 
yond a few sentences, but the animation with which he spoke would have 
produced the impression that he was a man of resolution. This, however, 
he was not ; and he had no opinion of his own upon any part of the admin- 
istration of public affairs. 

"In Fructidor§ he formed with Bewbeb and La Reveillere Lapaux the 
majority against Carnot and Bartlielemy. After that event, he became to all 
appearance the most considerable man of the Directory, but, in reality, it 
was Bewbel who possessed the greatest influence. Barras always appeared 
in public the warm friend of Napoleon. At the time of the 30th Prairial, he 
had the art to conciliate to himself the preponderating party in the Assem- 
bly, and he did not share the disgrace of his colleagues. 

* " 9th Thermidor'' (July 17th, 1794). This was the day of the overthrow of the Jacobins, with 
Robespierre at the head, and of the sanguinary revolutionary tribunal, by a new party which rose 
in the convention, and which was named, from the month of its triumph, Thermidorians. This rev- 
olution released Josephine from the prison and the guillotine. 

t " Vendemtaire 12th," Oct. 4th, 1795, when Napoleon established the power of the Directory by 
quelling the insurgent sections. 

t " I8lh Brumaire," Nov. 9th, 1799, when Napoleonoverthrew the Directory and was elected consul. 

§ In Fructidor (18th Fructidor, Sept. 4th, 1797). On this day occurred one of those coups d'etat 
for which Paris has ever been renowned. The Republican party assembled vast masses of troops, 
and obtained a decisive, though bloodless victory over the Royalists. The Republicans collected the 
reins of power into their own hands. It was an illegal act ; but legality and revolution are almost 
necessarily antagonistic terms. When law is powerless, any strong arm may repress violence. 
" The Directory," says Thiers, " by the 18th of Fructidor, prevented civil war, and substituted in its 
stead a stroke of policy, executed with energy, but with all the calmness and moderation possible 
in times of revolution." 



248 NAPOI EON AT ST. HELENA. [ChaP. XV. 

" La Reveillcre Lapaux, born at Angers, belonged to the lower ranks of 
the middling class of society. He was short, and his exterior was as unpre- 
possessing as can well be imagined. In his person he was a true ^Esop. 
He wa-ote tolerably well, but his intelligence was confined, and he had neither 
habits of business n.or knowledge of mankind. He was alternately govern- 
ed, according to circumstances, by Carnot or Kewbel. The Jardhi des 
Plantes, and the Theophilanthropy, a new religion of which he had the folly 
to become the founder, occupied all his time. In other respects, he was a 
patriot warm and sincere, an honest man, and a citizen full of probity and 
of learning. He was poor when he became a member of the Directory, and 
poor when he left it. Nature had not qualified him to occupy any higher 
station than than of an inferior magistrate. 

"After my return from the army of Italy, I fovmd myself, without know- 
ing why, the object of the particular assiduity, the marked attentions and 
flatteries of the Director Reveillere, who asked me one day to dine with him, 
strictly en fatnille, in order, he said, that we might be more at liberty to con- 
verse together. I accepted the invitation, and found, as he had promised, no- 
body present but the director, his wife, and his daughter, who, by-the-way, 
were three paragons of ugliness. After the dessert the two ladies retired, 
and the conversation took a serious turn. La Reveillere descanted at length 
ujDon the disadvantages of our religion, upon the necessity, however, of having 
one, and extolled and enumerated the advantages of tJie religion which he 
Avanted to establish, the Theophilanthropy. I was beginning to find the con- 
versation rather long and heavy, when, on a sudden. La Reveillere, rubbing 
his hands with an air of satisfaction, said to me, affectedly and with an arch 
look, 

" ' How valuable the acquisition of a man like you would be to us ! What 
advantage, what weight would be derived from your name ! and how glorious 
that circumstance would be to you ! Now what do you tliink of it V 

" I was far from expecting such a proposal, but replied that I did not think 
myself worthy of such an honor ; and riiy principles being, when ti-eading an 
obscure path, to follow the track of tliose who had preceded me in it, I was 
resolved to act, on the article of religion, as my father and mother had done. 
This positive answer convinced the high-priest that nothing was to be done. 
He did not insist, but fi'om that moment there was an end of all his attention 
and flatteries to me. 

" Rewbcl, born in Alsace, was one of the best lawyers in the town of Col- 
mar. He possessed that kind of intelligence which denotes a man skilled in 
the practice of the bar ; his influence was always felt in deliberations. He 
was easily inspired with prejudices ; did not believe mu.ch in the existence 
of virtue ; and his patriotism was tinged with a degTee of enthusiasm. It 
is problematical whether he did or did not amass a fortune during the time 
he was in the Directory. He was surrounded by contractors, it is true, but, 
with his turn of mind, it is possible that he only amused himself by convers- 
ing with men of activity and enterprise, and that he enjoyed their flatteries 
without making them pay for the complaisance he showed them. He bore 



1816, June.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 249 

a particular hatred to the Germanic system. He displayed great energy in 
the assemblies, both before and after the period of his being a magistrate, and 
was fond of a Kfe of application and activity. He had been a member jf the 
Constituent Assembly and of the Convention. By the latter he was ap- 
pointed commissioner at Mentz, where he gave no proofs of firmness or of 
military talent. He contributed to the surrender of the town, which might 
have held out longer. He, like all lawyers, had imbibed from his profession 
a prejudice against the army. 

" Carnot, born in Burgundy, had entered very young the coi^ps of engi- 
neers, and showed himself an advocate of the system of Montalembert. He 
was considered, by his companions an eccentric character, and was already a 
knight of the Order of St. Louis when the Revolution began, the principles 
of which he warmly espoused. He became a member of the Convention, 
and was one of the Committee of Public Safety with Robespierre, Barrere, 
Couthon, St. Juste, Billaud Yarennes, and CoUot d'Herbois, &c. ' He showed 
himself particularly inveterate against the nobility, and found himself, iii con- 
sequence, frequently engaged in quarrels with Robespierre, Avho, toward the 
close of his life, had taken a great many nobles under his protection. 

" Carnot was laborious, sincere on every occasion, but unaccustomed to 
intrigue, and easily deceived. He was attached to Jourdan as commissioner 
from the Convention at the time Jourdan was employed in relieving the 
town of Mentz, which was besieged, and he rendered some services on the 
occasion. At the Committee of Public Safety he directed the operations of 
the war, and was found useful, but he had neither experience nor practice in 
the affairs of war. He showed, on every occasion, great strength of mind. 

" After the events of Thermidor, when the Convention caused all the mem- 
bers of the Committee of Public Safety to be arrested with the exception of 
himself, Carnot insisted upon sharing their fate. This conduct was the more 
noble, inasmuch as public opinion had pronounced itself violently against the 
committee. He was named member of the Directory after Vendemiaire, but 
after the 9th Thermidor his mind was deeply affected by the reproaches of 
public opinion, which accused the committee of all the blood which had flow- 
ed on the scaffold. He felt the necessity of gaining esteem ; and believing 
that he took the lead, he suffered himself to be led by some of those who di- 
rected the party from abroad. His merit was then extolled to the skies, but 
he did not deserve the praises of the enemies of France. He found himself 
placed in a critical situation, and fell in Fructidor. 

" After the 18th Brumaire, Carnot was recalled by the First Consul, and 
placed in the department of war. He had several quarrels with the minister 
of the finances, and Dufresnes, the director of the treasury, in which, it is but 
fair to say, that he was always in the wrong. At last he left the department, 
persuaded that it could no longer go on for want of money. 

" When a member of the Tribunate, he spoke and voted against the estab- 
lishment of the Empire ; but his conduct, open and m^ly, gave no uneasi- 
ness to the administration. At a later period he was appointed chief inspect- 
or of reviews, and received from the Emperor, on his retiring from the serv- 



250 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XV. 

ice, a pension of four thousand dollars. As long as tilings went on prosper- 
ously, the Emperor heard nothing of him ; but after the campaign of Russia, 
at the time of the disasters of France, Carnot asked to be employed. He 
was appointed to command the town of Antwerp, and he behaved well at his 
post. On his return in 1815, the Emperor, after a little hesitation, appointed 
him to be minister of the interior, and had no cause to repent of having done 
so. He found him faithful, laborious, full of probity, and always sincere. 
In the month of June, Carnot was named one of the commission of the pro- 
visional government, but, being unfit for the place, he was duped. 

" Le Tourneur de la Manche was born in Normandy. He had been an 
officer of engineers before the Revolution. It is difficult to explain how he 
came to be appointed to the Directory. It can only be from one of those 
unaccountable caprices of which large assemblies so often give an example. 
He was a man of narrow capacity, little learning, and of a weak mind. There 
Avere in the Convention five hundred deputies that were better qualified for 
the situation. He was, however, a man of strict probity, and left the Di- 
rectory without any fortune. 

*' Le Tourneur made himself the talk and tlie laughing-stock of Paris. It 
was said that he came from his department to take possession at the Direct- 
ory in a cart, with his housekeeper, his kitchen utensils, and his poultry. 
The wags of the capital marked him, and he was overwhelmed with ridicule. 
He was made, for instance, to return from the Jardhi des Plantes^ where he 
had run immediately on his arrival in Paris, and to give an account of the 
rare things he had found there ; and on being asked Avhether he had seen 
Lacepede,* to express his surprise at having passed it unobserved, affirming 
that the camelopard was the only animal that had been pointed out to him. 

" The Directory was hardly established before it began to lower itself in 
the public estimation by caprices, bad morals, and false measures. The 
faults and absurdities which it committed daily completed its discredit, and 
it was lost in reputation almost at the very moment of its formation. In- 
toxicated with their elevation, the Directors thought it became them to adopt 
a certain air, and sought to acquire the appearance and manners of hon ton. 
In order the better to succeed, they formed each to himself a little court, where 
they received and welcomed the higher classes, hitherto in disgrace, and who 
were naturally their enemies, and from which they excluded the greatest j)art 
of their old acquaintances and former companions as thenceforward too vul- 
gar. All those Avho, during the Revolution, had shown more energy than the 
members of the Directory, or who had trodden in tlic same path with them, 
became odious to them, and were immediately removed ; and the Directory 
thus rendered itself ridiculous to one party, and alienated from itself the af- 
fections of the other. These five little courts exacted a greater degree of 
servility in proportion as they were inferior and ridiculous ; but numbers of 
men were found who could not bring; themselves to bend and submit to for- 
malities wliich the recollection of recent circumstances, the nature of the gov- 
ernment, and the character of the governors rendered inadmissible. 
* A distinguished professor of natural history. 



1816, June.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 251 

" However, all the Directoiy could do to gain over the saloons of Paris 
proved of no avail. It did not succeed in acquiring any influence over them, 
and the Bourbon party was gaining ground. The Directory no sooner per- 
ceived this than they hastily retraced their steps ; hut it was too late to re- 
cover the good-will of the Republicans, whom they had estranged from them- 
selves by their conduct. This led to a system of wavering which looked 
like caprice ; no course was laid down to steer by, no object was kept in 
view, no unity prevailed. The reign of terror and of royalty were equally 
objected to; but, in the mean time, the road which was to lead to the goal 
was left untried. The Directory thought to put an end to this state of un- 
certainty, and avoid these perpetual waverings, by striking at one blow the 
two extreme parties, whether they had deserved it or not. If, therefore, a 
Royalist who had conspired or disturbed the public tranquillity was arrested 
by their orders, .they caused a Republican, innocent or guilty, to be arrested 
at the same moment. This system was nicknamed The Political See-saw, 
but the injustice and fraud which characterized it entirely discredited the 
government. Every heart was closed. The government became one of lead, 
livery true and generous feeling was against the Directory. 

" Men of business, jobbers, and intriguers, by possessing themselves of the 
springs of government, acquired the greatest influence. All places were giv- 
en to worthless individuals, to jproteges, or to relations ; corruption crept 
into every branch of the administration. This was soon perceived, and those 
who had it in their power to waste the public money could act without fear. 
The foreign relations, the armies, the finances, the department of the interior, 
all felt the pernicious effects of a system so defective. This state of things 
soon gathered a storm on the political horizon, and led, by rapid strides, to 
the crisis of Fructidor. 

" At that period the measures of the Directory were weak, capricious, and 
uncertain. Emigrants returned to France, and newspapers, paid by foreign- 
ers, dared openly to stigmatize the most deserving of our patriots. The fury 
of the enemies of our national glory exasperated the soldiers of the army of 
Italy, which declared itself loudly against them, while the councils, in their 
turn, acting the parts of real counter-revolutionists, spoke of nothing but 
priests, bells, and emigrants. All the officers of the army who had distin- 
guished themselves more or less in the departments, in the battalions of vol- 
unteers, or even in the regiments of the line, feeling themselves thus attacked 
in their dearest interests, inflamed more and more the anger of their soldiers. 
The minds of all parties were in a state of effervescence. In a moment of 
such violent agitation, what measures could the general of the army of Italy 
adopt ? He had the choice of three. 

"1. To side with the preponderating party in the councils. But it was too 
late. The army had pronounced itself; and the leaders of that party, the ora- 
tors of the council, by attacking incessantly both the general and his army, 
had not left him the possibility of adopting that resolution. 

" 2. To embrace the party of the Directory and of the Republic. That 
was the plainest course, that which duty pointed out, which the army inclined 



252 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [CpL4P. XV. 

to, and that in -wliicli he was ah-eady engaged ; for all the writers who had 
remained faithful to the Revolution liad declared themselves, of their own ac- 
cord, the ardent defenders and warm advocates of the army and its com- 
manders. 

" 3. To overpower both foctions by stepping forward boldly, and appearing 
openly in the contest as regulator of the republic. But, notwithstanding the 
strength which Napoleon felt he derived from the support of the army, al- 
though his character was highly esteemed in France, he did not think that 
the spirit of the times and public opinion were such as to allow liim to take 
so daring a step ; and besides, if this third measure had been that to which 
lie secretly inclined, he could not have adopted it immediately, and without 
having previously sided with one of the two parties which appeared at that 
moment in the political lists. It was absolutely necessary, even in order to 
form a third party, to side lirst either with the councils or w-ith the Directory. 

" Thus, of the three measures to be adopted, the third, in its execution, 
merged into the two first, and lie was entirely debarred from adopting the 
first of these two by the new formation of the councils, and by the attacks 
already made upon him by them. 

"These considerations and conclusions," the Emperor continued, "were 
the natural result of a deep meditation upon the then existing state of affairs 
in France. The general had, therefore, nothing to do but to let events take 
their course, and second the impulse of his troops ; and this view of the 
subject produced the proclamation to the army of Italy, and the far-famed 
order of the day of its general. 

" ' Soldiers I' he said, 'I know that your hearts are full of grief at the ca- 
himities of our country ; but if it were possible that foreign armies should 
triumph, we Avould fly from the summit of the Alps with the rapidity of the 
eagle to defend once more that cause which has already cost vis so much 
blood!' 

*' These words decided the question. The soldiers, in ecstasy, were for 
marching at once iipon Paris. The noise of the event spread immediately to 
the capital, and produced a most powerful sensation. The Directoiy, wliich 
every body considered as lost, which the moment before was tottering alone 
and abandoned, found itself at once sujiported by public opinion. It imme- 
diately assumed the attitude and followed the course of a triumphant partv, 
and defeated all its enemies. 

" The general of the army of Italy had sent Augereau to convey to the 
Directory his proclamation to his soldiers, because he was a Parisian, and 
strongly pronounced in favor of the prevailing notions of the day. 

" Nevertheless, the politicians of the day made the following surmises : 
' What would Napoleon have done if the councils had triumphed — if that 
taction, instead of being overthrown, had, on the contrary, overthrown the 
Directory ?' In that case, it appears that he was determined to march upon 
Lyons and IMirbel with fifteen thousand men, where he Avould have been join- 
ed by all the Republicans of Burgundy. The victorious council would not 
have been more than three or four days Avithout coming to some violent rup- 



1816, June.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 253 

tore and division, for it is known that, if numbers of these councils were 
unanimous in their proceedings against tlie Directory, they were far from be- 
ing so as to the farther course they meant to pursue. The leaders, such as 
PichegTU, Imbert Colomes, and others sold to foreign powers, exerted all 
their influence to restore royalty and bring about a counter-revolution, while 
Carnot and others sought to produce results quite opposite to these. France 
would therefore have become immediately a prey to confusion and anarchy, 
and in that case, all factions would have seen with satisfaction Napoleon ap- 
pear as a rallying-point, an anchor of safety, capable of saving them, at the 
same time, from the terrors of royalty and from the terrors of demagogues. 
Napoleon would then naturally have repaired to Paris, and found himself 
at the head of affairs by the unanimous wish and consent of all parties. The 
majority of the councils was strong and positive, it is true, but it was only 
against the directors. It would divide ad infinitum as soon as they were 
overturned. 

"The choice of three new directors having openly exposed the tru& inten- 
tion of the measures of the counter-revolution, the greatest number of the 
citizens, in their alarm, were ready to fly to Napoleon with the national ori- 
flamme* unfurled ; for the true counter-revolutionists were, after all, few in 
number, and their pretensions were too ridiculous and absurd. Everything 
would have given way before Napoleon. 

" Had they called him Ca3sar or Cromwell, still he proceeded supported 
by a religion and a party whose ideas were settled and popular. He was 
master of his soldiers, the coflers of the army were full, and he was in pos- 
session of every other means calciilated to insure their constancy and their 
fidelity. If the question were now to be decided whether Napoleon, in the 
secret of his own mind, would or would not have wishfed affairs to take this 
turn, Ave should give our opinion in the affirmative ; and we are led to believe, 
fi:om the following fact, that his wishes and his hopes were in favor of the 
triumph of the majority of the councils. At the moment of the crisis be- 
tween the two factions, a secret decree, signed by the three members com- 
posing the party of the Directory, asked him for three millions of francs to 
resist the attack of the councils ; but Napoleon, under various pretenses, did 
not send them, although it would have been easy for him to do so. Yet it 
was Avell known that his disposition did not allow him to hesitate in inoney 
matters. 

"Therefore," continued the Emperor, "when the struggle was over, and 
the Directory took pleasure in acknowledging openly that it owed its exist- 
ence to Napoleon, it still entertained some vague suspicions that Napoleon 
had only espoused its party in the hope of seeing it overthrown and of taking- 
its place. Be that as it may, after the 18th Fructidor, the enthusiasm of 
tlie army was at its height, and the triumph of Napoleon complete. But tlie 
Directory, notwithstanding its apparent gratitude, surrounded Napoleon from 
that moment with numerous agents, who watched over his motions, and en- 
deavored to penetrate the secrets of his thoughts."' t 
* The oriflainme was a flag which was carried before the kings of France. 



254 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChaP. XVI. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

1816, June. Continued. 

English Diplomacy — Lord Whitworth — Chatham — Castlereagh — Cornwallis — Fox — Lacretelle's 
History of the Convention — Puns — Public Characters — Bailli — La Fayette — Monge — Gregoire 
— St. Domingo — Dictations on the Convention. 

June 10. The course of conversation led the Emperor to say, 

"Nothing; is so dano-erous and so treacherous as official conversations 
with diplomatic agents of Great Britain. The English ministers never rep- 
resent an affair as from their nation to another, but as from themselves to 
their own nation. They care little Avhat their adversaries have said or say. 
They holdly put forth what their diplomatic agents have said, or what they 
make them say, on the grounds that, those agents having a public and ac- 
knowledged character, faith must be placed in their reports. It is in pursu- 
ance of tliis principle that the English ministers published at the time, under 
the name of Lord Whitworth, a long conversation between me and Whit- 
worth, the account of which was entirely false. 

" This proved for me a lesson which altered my method forever. From 
this moment I never treated officially of political matters but through tlie in- 
tervention of my minister for foreign affairs. He, at any rate, could give a 
positive and formal denial, which the sovereign could not do. It is utterly 
false that any thing occurred in the course of our personal interview which 
was not in conformity with the common rules of decorum. Lord Whitworth 
himself, after our conference, being in company with other embassadors, ex- 
pressed himself perfectly satisfied, and added that he had no doubt all things 
would be satisfactorily settled. But Avhat was the surprise of those same 
embassadors when they read, a short time after, in the English newspapers, 
the report of Lord Whitworth, in which he charged me with having behaved 
in the interview with unbecoming violence! We had some warm friends 
among these embassadors, and some of them went so far as to express their 
surprise to the English diplomatist, observing to him that his report was very 
different from what he had said to them immediately after the conference. 
Lord Whitworth made the best excuse he could, but persisted in maintaining 
the assertions of the official document. 

" The fact is," continued the Emperor, " that every political agent of Great 
Britain is in the habit of making two reports on the same subject — one pub- 
lic and false, for the ministerial archives, the other confidential and true, for 
the ministers themselves, and for them alone ; and when the responsibility 
of ministers is at stake, they produce the first of these documents, which, al- 
though false, answers every purpose, and serves to exonerate them. And 
thus it is that the best institutions become vicious when they are no longer 
founded on morality, and when their agents are only actuated by selfishness, 



1816, June.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 255 

pride, and insolence. Absolute power has no need of disguise ; it is silent. 
Responsible governments, when obliged to speak, have recourse to artifice, and 
He with eiFronterj. 

" It is, however, a circumstance worthy of remark, that in my great strug- 
gle with England, the government of that country has constantly contrived 
to attach so much odium to my person and actions, and that they have so 
impudently exclaimed against my despotism, my selfishness, my ambition, 
and my perfidy, when they alone were guilty of all they dared to lay to my 
charge. A very strong prejudice must have been excited against me. I 
must have been, indeed, very much to be feared, since people could suffer 
themselves to be thus deceived. I can understand it from kings and cab- 
inets : their existence was at stake ; but from the people ! ! 

" The British ministers spoke incessantly of my duplicity ; but could any 
thing be compared to their Machiavelism, their selfishness, during the exist- 
ence of disorders and convulsions which were kept alive by them ? 

" They sacrificed unfortunate Austria in 1805 merely to escape the n- 
vasion with which I threatened them. 

"They sacrificed her again in 1809, to be more at liberty to act in the 
Peninsula. 

"They sacrificed Prussia in 1816, in hopes of recovering Hanover. 

" They did not assist Russia in 1807, because they preferred to go and 
seize upon distant colonies, and because they were attempting to take pos- 
session of Egypt. 

" They gave to the world the infamous spectacle of bombarding Copen- 
hagen in full peace, and lying in ambush to steal the Danish fleet. They 
had already, once before, exhibited a similar spectacle, by seizing, like high- 
way robbers, also in full peace, four Spanish frigates laden with rich treas- 
ures. 

" Lastly, during the war in the Spanish Peninsula, where they endeavored 
to prolong the existence of anarchy and confusion, their principal care was 
to traffic with the wants and the blood of the Spanish nation, by obliging it 
to purchase their services and their supplies at the expense of gold and con- 
cessions. 

" While all Europe, through their intrigues and their subsidies, was bathed 
in blood, they were only intent upon providing for their own safety, gaining 
advantages for their trade, and obtaining the sovereignty of the sea and the 
monopoly of the world. As for myself, I had never done any thing of the 
kind ; and, until the unfortunate business with Spain, which, after all, is not 
to be compared with the affair of Copenhagen, I can say that my morality is 
unimpeachable. My actions had, perhaps, been dictatorial and peremptory, 
but never disgraced by perfidy. Who can be surprised, after all this, if in 
1814, although England had really been the deliverer of Europe, not a single 
Englishman could show himself on the Continent without meeting, at every 
step, with maledictions, hatred, and execrations ? Who can ask how this 
happened ? Every tree bears its own fruit. We reap only what we have 
sown. And such was necessarily the infallible result of the misdeeds of the 



256 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XVI. 

English government, the tyranny and the insolence of the ministers in Lon- 
don, and of their agents all over the globe. 

" For the last fifty years the administrations of Great Britain have grad- 
ually declined in consideration and in public estimation. Formerly they 
were disputed by great national parties, characterized by grand and distinct 
systems ; but now we see only the bickerings of one and the same oligarchy, 
having constantly the same object in view, and whose discordant members 
adjust their differences by compromise and concessions. They have turned 
the cabinet of St. James into a ship. 

" The policy of Lord Chatham was marked by acts of injustice, no doubt, 
but at least he proclaimed them with boldness and energy. They had a cer- 
tain air of grandeur. Pitt introduced into the cabinet a system of hypoc- 
risy and dissimulation. Lord Castlereagh, the self-styled heir of Pitt, has 
brought into it the extreme of every kind of turpitude and immorality. 
Chathaiu gloried in being a merchant. Lord Castlereagh, to the serious in- 
jury of his nation, has indulged himself in the satisfaction of acting the fine 
gentleman. He has sacrificed his country to fraternize with the great people 
of the Continent, and from tliat moment has united in his person the vices 
of the saloon Avith the cupidity of the counting-house, the duplicity and ob- 
sequiousness of the courtier with the haughtiness and insolence of the upstart. 
The poor English Constitution is in imminent danger. What a difference 
between such men and the Foxes, Sheridans, and Greys ! those great gen- 
iuses — ^those noble characters of the opposition, who have been the objects of 
the ridicule of a victorious oligarchy ! 

"Lord Cornwallis is the first Englishman that gave me, in good earnest, 
a favorable opinion of his nation ; after him. Fox ; and I might add to these, 
if it were necessary, our present admiral (jMalcolm). 

" Cornwallis was, in every sense of the word, a worthy, good, and honest 
man. xVt the time of the treaty of Amiens, the terms having been agreed 
upon, he had promised to sign the next day at a certain hour. Something 
of consequence detained him at home, but he pledged his word. The even- 
ing of that same day, a courier arrived from London proscribing. certain ar- 
ticles of the treaty ; but he answered that he had signed, and immedisftely 
came and actually signed. We understood each other perfectly well. I 
had placed a regiment at his disposal, and he took pleasure in seeing its ma- 
neuvers. I have preserved an agreeable recollection of him in every respect, 
and it is certain that a request from him would have had more weight with 
me, perhaps, than one from a crowned head. His family appears to have 
guessed this to be the case. Some requests have been made to me in its 
name, Avhich have all been granted. 

" Fox came to France immediately after the peace of Amiens. He was 
employed in writing a history of the Stuarts, and asked my permission to 
search our diplomatical archives. I gave orders that every thing should be 
placed at his disposal. I received him often. Fame had informed me of 
his talents, and I soon found that he possessed a noble character, a good 
licart, lil^eral, generous, and enlightened views. I considered him an orna- 



1816, June.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 257 

nient to mankind, and was very much attached to him. We often conversed 
together upon various topics without the least prejudice. When I wished 
to engage in a Httle controversy, I turned the conversation upon the subject 
of the machine infernale, and tokl him that his ministers had attempted to 
murder me. He would then oppose my opinion with warmth, and invariably 
ended by saying, in his bad French, 'First Consul, pray take that out of 
your head.' But he was not convinced of the truth of the cause he under- 
took to advocate, and there is every reason to believe he argued more in de- 
fense of his country than of the morality of its ministers." 

The Emperor closed the conversation by saying, 

"Half a dozen such men as Fox and Cornwallis would be sufficient to 
establish the moral character of a nation. With such men I should always 
have agreed. We should soon have settled our differences, and not only 
France would have been at peace with a nation at bottom most worthy of 
esteem, but we should have done great things together." 

Jti7ie 11. It was a tempestuous day of wind and rain. The Emperor 
read the History of the Convention by LacreteUe. 

"It is," he said, "certainly not ill written, but it is ill digested, and 
makes no impression on the memory. The whole is a smooth surface, with- 
out a single asperity to arrest attention. The author did not thoroughly ex- 
amine his subject. He does not do justice to many celebrated characters. 
He does not give an adequate coloring to the crimes of many others." 

The torrents of rain which were falling prevented the Emperor from walk- 
ing out. In the afternoon, he paced the floor of the dining-room for a long- 
time, in conversation with Las Casas. The latter said to the Emperor, 

" I have been informed that there are four thousand oxen in the island. 
The annual consumption consists of five hundred. Of this number, one 
hundred and fifty are appropriated to us, fifty to the colony, and three hund- 
red to the shipping. The subsistence and consumption of these oxen con- 
stitute a great portion of the public interest in the island. A single beast 
can not be killed without a previous order of the governor. The owner of 
one of the houses or huts of the island, spealdng on this subject, said, 

" 'It is reported that you complain up at Longwood, and consider your- 
selves unhappy, but we are at a loss to make it out, for it is said that you 
have beef every day, while we can not have it but three or four times a year, 
and even then we pay for it fifteen or twenty pence a pound.' " 

" The Emperor laughed heartily at the story, and observed, ' You ought 
to have assured him that it cost us several crowns.'' " 

Las Casas remarks, "This was the only pun I had till then heard from 
the Emperor's mouth. But the person to whom I made the remark said he 
had heard of his having made a similar one, and on the same subject, in the 
Isle of Elba. A mason, employed in some buildings which were to be con- 
structed by the Emperor's order, had fallen and hurt himself. The Emperor, 
wishing to encourage him, said, 

" ' You will soon be well again. I have had a much worse fall than yours. 
But look at me ; I am on my legs and in good health." " 

E, 



258 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [CuAP. XVI. 

June 12. For three Jays the rain had fallen in torrents. To-day a gleam 
of sunshine induced the Emperor to take an airing in his carriage. He had 
just finished reading the History of the Constituent Assembly by Rabaut 
de St. Etienne. He expressed very nearly the same opinion of this writer 
as of Lacretelle. fie then spoke of several public characters. 

"Bailli," said he, "was far from being a bad man, but was by no means 
a skillful politician. La Fayette was another such man, and not at all form- 
ed for the eminent character which he wished to represent. His political 
good-nature was such as to render him the constant dupe of men and things. 
All was lost on my return from Waterloo by his insurrection of the Cham- 
bers. Who could have persuaded Iiim that I had arrived merely for the pur- 
pose of dissolving them — I, whose only safety was centred in them ?" 

"It was, however, sire," said Las Casas, "the same La Fayette who, 
treating afterward with the Allies, was filled with indignation at their pro- 
posal of delivering up your majesty, and eagerly asked if it Avere to the pris- 
oner of Olmutz they dared to address themselves." 

"But, sir," replied the Emperor, "you run from one subject to another, 
or, rather, you concur with instead of opposing my opinion. I have not at- 
tacked the sentiments or intentions of ]\I. de La Fayette ; I have only com- 
plained of their fatal results." 

In continuation of the conversation, the Emperor remarked, 

"Nothing is more common than to find men of that epoch quite the re- 
verse in character of that which their words and actions seemed to establish. 
Monges^ for instance, might be considered a terrible man. When war was 
resolved upon, he declared from the tribune of the Jacobins that he would 
give his two daughters in marriage to the two first soldiers who might be 
wounded by the enemy. This he was at liberty to do, in the strict sense of 
the gift, as far as it respected himself; but he maintained that others should 
be compelled to follow his example, and that all the nobility should be put 
to death. Yet Monges was one of the mildest and weakest men living, and 
would not allow a chicken to be killed if he were obliged to do it himself or 
to see it done. This furious Republican, as he believed himself, cherished, 
however, a kind of worship for me, which he pushed to adoration. 

" Gregoire, whose animosity to the clergy, whom he wished to bring back 
to their original simplicity, was so great that he might have passed for a 
champion of irreligion, may be mentioned as another instance ; yet Gregoire, 
when the Revolutionists were denying their God and abolishing the priest- 
hood, was very nearly being massacred in mounting the tribune for the pur- 
pose of boldly declaring his religious sentiments, and protesting that he would 
die a priest. At the very moment when the work of destruction was going 
on in all the churches against the altars, Gregoire erected one in his own 
apartment, and said mass there every day. This man's lot, however, is de- 
cidedly cast. If he be driven from France, he must take refuge in St. Do- 
mingo. The friend, the advocate, the eulogist of the negroes, will be a god 
or a saint among them." 

The subject of St. Domingo was next introduced. Las Casas had been 



1816, June.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 259 

familiar with the colony in its most flourishing state. The Emperor put 
manj questions to him, and, after his inquiries were over, observed, 

" After the Restoration, the French government had sent out emissaries 
and proposals which were laughed at hj the negroes. As to myself, on my 
return from the Isle of Elba I would have settled all differences with them. 
I would have recognized their independence, contented myself with some fac- 
tories like those on the coast of Africa, endeavored to draw them closer to the 
mother country, and to establish a kind of family commerce with them, which 
might, in my opinion, have been easily accomplished. 

" I have to reproach myself with the attempt which was made upon the 
colony during the consulship. The design of reducing it by force was a great 
error. I ought to have been satisfied with governing it through the medium 
of Toussaint. Peace with England was not sufficiently consolidated, and the 
territorial wealth I should have acquired by its reduction would but have 
served to enrich our enemies. I have the greater reason to reproach myself 
with the attempt, because I had foreseen its failure, and it was executed 
against my inclination. I yielded solely to the opinion of the Council of 
State and of my ministers, hm-ried along as they were by the clamors of the 
colonists, who formed a considerable party at Paris, and were, besides, nearly 
all Royalists, or in the pay of the English faction. 

" Toussaint was not a man destitute of merit, but he certainly was not so 
highly gifted as was attempted in his time to describe him. His character, 
besides, was ill calculated to inspire real confidence. He had given us seri- 
ous causes of complaint. It would have been necessary to have been always 
distrustful of his sincerity. He was chiefly guided by an officer of engineers. 
That officer had come to France before Leclerc's expedition, and conferences 
were, for a long time, held with him. He exerted himself very much to pre- 
vent the attempt, and described with real precision all its difficulties, without 
pretending, however, that it was impossible. 

" The Bourbons may possibly succeed in reducing St. Domingo by force, 
but it is not the result of arms which it is necessary to calculate here ; it is 
rather the result of commerce and of grand political views. Three or four 
hundred millions of capital swept away fi:om France to a remote country, an 
indefinite period for reaping the fruits of such a sacrifice, the very great cer- 
tainty of seeing them engrossed by the English, or swallowed up by Revolu- 
tion — these are the points for consideration. The colonial system which we 
have witnessed is closed for us, as well as the whole Continent of Europe. 
We must give it up, and henceforth confine ourselves to the free navigation 
of the seas, and the complete liberty of universal barter." 

" The History of the Convention," says Las Casas, " of which Napoleon had 
already expressed his disapprobation, again presented itself to his thoughts. 
He was far from being satisfied with Lacretelle. ' Sentences in abundance,' 
he repeated, ' and but little coloring ; no depth. Pie is an academician, but 
in no respect a historian.' He made me call my son, and dictated the follow- 
ing note, of which I give a literal copy, however imperfect it may be, for he 
never read it a second time." 



260 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XVI. 

'■'■The Convention. 

" The Convention, called together by a law of the Legislative Assembly 
to form a new Constitution for France, decreed the Republic ; not that the 
most enlightened did not think the republican system incompatible with the 
existing state of manners in France, but because the monarchy could not be 
continued without placing the Duke of Orleans on the throne, which would 
have alienated a great part of the nation. 

"An executive power, consisting of five ministers, was established by the 
Convention for conducting the affairs of the Republic. Two parties contend- 
ed for the ascendency in the National Convention — that of the Girondists* 
composed of men who had influenced the Legislative Assembly, and that of 
the Mountain .,\ formed by the commune of Paris, which had directed the 
atrocities of the lOtli of AugTist and of the 2d of September, and commanded 
the population of the capital. 

" Vergniaud, Brissot, Condorcet, Gaudet, and Roland were the leaders of 
the Girondists. Danton, Robespierre, Marat, Collot d'Herbois, and Billaud 
Yarennes headed the Mountain. These two parties were alike indebted for 
their rise to the principles of the Revolution. Tlieir conductors sprang out 
of the popular societies which they had successively rendered subservient to 
their views. 

"The party of the Girondists was more powerful in talents, and was emi- 
nently popular in the great provincial towns, particularly at Bordeaux, Mont- 
pellier, Marseilles, Caen, and Lyons. The party of the Mountain possessed 
more energy and enthusiasm, and was no less popular in the capital and 
among the clubs of the departments. 

" The Girondist party, which in the Legislative xissembly had been the 
most ardent for the Revolution, became, in the Convention, the most moder- 
ate, because it had to contend there with a faction much more violent than 
itself, which had not found its way into the Assembly. The Girondists call- 
ed their adversaries the faction of September, and constantly reproached them 
with the horrible massacre of which they were guilty. They accused them 
of being hostile to every kind of national assembly, and of endeavoring to 
transfer the government of France to the commune of Paris. But by these 
means the Girondists only excited against themselves the Jacobins of all the 
departments. On the other hand, the Mountain stigmatized the Girondists 
by the name of Federalists, and charged them with the design of establishing 
a federative system in France similar to that of Switzerland. They also ac- 
cused them of endeavoring to stir up the provinces against the capital, and 
thus held them up to the detestation of the people of Paris, which could main- 
tain its splendor only by the union and unity of the whole of the territory. 
When the Girondists inveighed against the Mountain for the massacres of 

* The Girondists were moderate Republicans. The party was so called because the leaders were 
deputies from the department of the Gironde. 

t The Jacobin party was often called the Mountain, or the Mountaineers, from the elevated seats 
wliich they occupied in the Convention. 



1816, June.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 261 

the 2d of September, the latter reproached the former with having, during the 
Legislative Assembly, rashlj and without cause, declared war against all 
Europe. 

" The Girondists at iirst appeared to have the upper hand in the Con- 
vention, and thej directed that Marat should be brought to trial, and that 
proceedings should be instituted against the assassins of September. But 
Marat, supported by the Jacobins, was acquitted by the Revolutionary Tri- 
bunal, and returned in triumph to the bosom of the Assembly. 

" The trial of the king had been another apple of discord. The two par- 
ties seemed to proceed in unison, and voted, it is true, for his death : but 
the greater part of the Girondists also voted for an appeal to the people. And 
here it is difficult to account for their conduct during that crisis. If they 
wished to save the king, they were at liberty to do so ; they had only to 
vote for deportation, exile, or the adjournment of the question ; but to sen- 
tence him to death, and make his fate depend upon the will of the people, was 
in the highest degree absurd and impolitic. They seemed to be desirous 
that, after the extinction of the monarchy, France should be torn to pieces 
hj civil war. 

" The general opinion since the commencement of the Revolution, that the 
most audacious and unreasonable faction would always predominate, was from 
that moment verified. The Girondists, however, maintained the conflict with 
courage, and very often had majorities in the Assembly during all the months 
of March, April, and May ; but the ]\Iountain had recourse, in these circum- 
stances, to an expedient which it had constantly employed. On the 31st of 
May the fate of the Girondists was decided by an insurrection of the sections 
of Paris. Twenty-seven were arrested, brought before the Revolutionary 
Tribunal, and sentenced to death. Seventy-three were thrown into prison, 
and from that period the triumphant Mountain had no obstacle to surmount 
in the Convention. Several Girondist deputies took refuge, however, at Caen, 
and there raised the standard of insurrection. Lyons, Marseilles, Bordeaux, 
Montpellier, and several towns of Brittany, embraced the cause of this party, 
and also took up arms against the Convention. 

"All these efforts were of no avail against the capital, and the Mountain 
remained in tranquil possession of the national tribune. A circumstance al- 
together singular contributed to confirm the preponderance of Paris ; it was 
the assignats,* then the only resource for supplying the treasury. Not a sin- 
gle tax was then paid. The provinces learned with considerable emotion the 
events of the 31st of May, and the death of the most celebrated characters of 
the Girondist party. The armies wei'e not agitated by these results. They 
took no share in the insurrection of some of the provinces, and remained all 
attached to the Convention and to the dominant party at Paris. 

" When the partial insurrection of certain towns in favor of the Girondists 
was known, all the armies had already taken the oath, and testified their ad- 
hesion to the Mountain ; besides, in the eyes of Frenchmen, Paris was France. 

* " The assignats," paper money issued by the Convention. A forced circulation was given to 
this paper, but it eventually became of no value. 



262 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XVII. 

The 31st of ]\Iay deprived France of men of great talents, zealously attached 
to liberty and the principles of the Eevolution. The catastrophe might af- 
flict the well disposed, hut could not surprise them. It Avas impossible for 
an assembly, which had extricated France from the critical situation to which 
she was reduced, to carry on public business with two parties so inveterately 
and irreconcilably opposed. It was necessary for the safety of tlie republic 
that one should extinguish the other, and there can be no doubt that, had^ 
the Girondists obtained the victory, they would have consigned their adver- 
saries to the scaffold." 

The Emperor, who had dictated, in his usual way, from memory alone, 
without any research, whether he was little satisiied with the task he had 
executed, or for some other reason, stopped here, for the purpose, as he said, 
of recommencing a new dictation on the same subject. 



CHAPTER XYII. 

1816, June. Continued. 

The War and Royal Family of Spain — Errors — Ferdinand at Valengay — Historical Sketch of the 
Events — The \Ioniteurs — The Liberty of the Press — The Conference at Tilsit — Anecdotes of the 
Emperor of Russia — Of the King and Queen of Prussia — Anecdote of Savary — The Emperor's 
Magnanimity. 

June 14. The Emperor had been quite ill all night, and was unable to 

leave his room. He spent 







THK E.MrEROR A 1' BREAKFAST. 



the day alone, and break- 
fasted and dined in his 
chamber. After dinner, in 
the evening, he sent for Las 
Casas. 

"The Emperor began the 
conversation," says Las Ca- 
sas, "of which the constant 
subject was the Spanish 
war. It has been seen, in 
the notice which I have al- 
ready taken of it, that the 
Emperor took upon him- 
self the whole blame of the 
measure. I wish to avoid 
repetitions as much as pos- 
sible, and shall therefore 
allude to those topics only 
which appeared new to 
me." 
' ' The old king and queen, " 
said the Emperor, "at the 



1816, June.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 263 

moment of the event, were the objects of the hatred and contempt of then- 
subjects. The Prince of Asturias conspired against them, forced tliem to ab- 
dicate, and at once united in his own person the love and hopes of the nation. 
That nation was, however, ripe for great changes, and demanded them with 
energy. I enjoyed vast popularity in the country, and it was in that state 
of things tliat aR these personages met at Bayonne, the old king calling upon 
me for vengeance against his son, and the young prince soliciting my protec- 
tion against his father, and imploring a wife at my hands. I resolved to 
convert this singular occasion to my advantage, with the view of freeing my- 
self from that branch of the Bourbons, of continuing in my own dynasty the 
family system of Louis XIV., and of binding Spain to the destinies of 
France. Ferdinand was sent to Valen9ay, the old king to Marseilles, as he 
wished, and my brother Joseph went to reign at ]\Iadrid with a liberal Con- 
stitution, adopted by a junta of the Spanish nation, which had come to re- 
ceive it at Bayonne. 

"It seems to me," continued he, "that Europe, and even France, has 
never had a just idea of Ferdinand's situation at Valen9ay. There is a 
strange misunderstanding in the world with respect to the treatment he ex- 
perienced, and still more so with respect to his wishes and personal opinions 
as to that situation. The fact is, that he was scarcely guarded at Valen9ay, 
and that he did not wish to escape. If any plots were contrived to favor 
his evasion, he was the first to make them known. An Irishman (Baron de 
CoUi) gained access to his person, and offered, in the name of George III., 
to carry him off; but Ferdinand, far from embracing the offer, instantly 
communicated it to the proper authority. 

"His applications to me for a wife at my hands were incessant. He spon- 
taneously wrote to me letters of congratulation upon every event that oc- 
curred in my favor. He had addressed proclamations to the Spaniards rec- 
ommending their submission ; he had recognized Joseph. All these were 
circumstances which might, indeed, have been considered as forced upon him ; 
but he requested from me the insignia of his grand order ; he tendered to me 
the services of his brother, Don Carlos, to take the command of the Spanish 
regiments which were marching to Russia, proceedings to which he was in no 
respect obliged. To sum up all, he earnestly solicited my permission to visit 
my court at Paris ; and if I did not lend myself to a spectacle which would 
have astonished Europe by displaying the full consolidation of my power, it 
was because the important circumstances which called me abroad, and my 
frequent absence fi-om the capital, deprived me of the proper opportunity. 

" Toward the beginning of a new year, at one of the levees, I happened to 
be next to the chamberlain, Count d'Arberg, who had been doing duty at 
Valen^ay near the persons of the princes of Spain. When I approached, 
I inquired if these princes conducted themselves with propriety, and added, 
' You have brought me a very pretty letter ; but, between ourselves, it was 
you that wrote it for them.' D'Arberg assured me that he was altogether 
unacquainted even with the nature of its contents. ' Well,' I added, ' a son 
could not write more cordially to his father.' 



264 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XYII. 

"When our situation in Spain," continued the Emperor, "turned out 
dangerous, I more than once proposed to Ferdinand to return and reign over 
his people ; that we should openly carry on war against each other, and that 
the contest should be decided by the fate of arms. 

" ' No,' answered the jmnce, who seems to have been wxll ad\dsed, and 
never deviated from that way of thinking. ' ]\Iy country is agitated by po- 
litical disturbances. I should but multiply its embarrassments. I might 
become their victim, and lose my head upon the scaffold. I remain. But 
if you will choose a wife for me — if you will grant me your protection and 
the support of your arms, I shall set out, and prove a faitliful ally.' 

"At a later period, during our disasters, and toward the end of 1813, 1 
yielded to that proposal, and Ferdinand's marriage with Joseph's eldest 
daughter was decided. But circumstances were then no longer the same, 
and Ferdinand Avas desirous that the mamage should be deferred. 

" 'You can no longer,' he observed, 'support me with your arms, and I 
ought not to make my wife a title of exclusion in the eyes of my people.' 
He left me," continued the Emperor, "as it seemed, with every intention of 
good faith, for he remained faithful to the principles which he avowed on his 
departure until the events of Fontainebleau. Had the affairs of 1814 turn- 
ed out differently, I should unquestionably have accomplished his marriage 
with Joseph's daughter. 

" The impolicy of my conduct was irrevocably decided by the results ; but, 
independently of that kind of proof, depending upon consequences, I have to 
reproach myself with serious faults in the execution of my plans. One of the 
greatest was that of treating the dethronement of the dynasty of the Bour- 
bons as a matter of importance, and of maintaining, as the basis of ray sys- 
tem for a new sovereign, precisely the man who, by his qualities and charac- 
ter, was certain to produce its failure. 

" During the assembly at Bayonne, Ferdinand's former preceptor and his 
principal counselor (Escoiquiz), at once perceiving the vast jjrojects I enter- 
tained, said to me, 

" 'You wish to create for yourself a kind of Herculean labor when you 
have but child's play in hand. You wish to rid yourself of the Bourbons 
of Spain. Why should you be apprehensive of them ? They have ceased 
to exist. They are no longer French. You have nothing to fear from them. 
They are altogether aliens with respect to your nation and your manners. 
You have here Madam de Montmorency, and some new ladies of your court. 
The Spanish princes are not more acquainted with the one than with the oth- 
er, and view them all with equal indifference.' 

" I unfortunately formed a different resolution. I took the liberty of tell- 
ing him I had been assured by some Spaniards that, if the national pride 
had been respected, and the Spanish junta held at Madrid instead of Bay- 
onne, or even if Charles lA^. had been sent off and Ferdinand retained, the 
revolution would have been popular, and affairs would have taken another 
turn. I entertained no doubt of this ; the enterjmse was imprudently un- 
dertaken, and many circumstances might have been better conducted. 



1816, June.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 265 

" Charles IV.," continued he, " was, however, too stale for the Spaniards ; 
Ferdinand should have been considered in the same light. The plan most 
worthy of me, and the best suited to my project, would have been a kind of 
mediation, like that of Switzerland. I ought to have given a liberal Consti- 
tution to the Spanish nation, and charged Ferdinand with its execution. If 
he acted with good faith, Spain must have prospered and harmonized with 
our new manners ; the great object would have been obtained, and France 
would have acquired an intimate ally and an addition of power truly formi- 
dable. Had Ferdinand, on the contrary, proved faithless to his new engage- 
ments, the Spaniards themselves would not have failed to dismiss him, and 
would have applied to nie for a ruler in his place. At all events," concluded 
the Emperor, " that unfortunate war of Spain was a real affliction, and the 
first cause of the calamities of France. 

" After my conferences at Erfurth with Alexander, England ought to have 
been compelled to make peace by the force of arms or of reason. She had 
lost the esteem of the Continent. Her attack upon Copenhagen had disgusted 
the public mind, while I distinguished myself at that moment by every con- 
trary advantage, when that disastrous affair of Spain presented itself to effect 
a sudden change against me, and reinstate England in the public estimation. 
She was enabled, from that moment, to continue the war. The trade with 
South America was thrown open to her. She formed an army for herself in 
the Peninsula, and next became the victorious agent, the main point of all 
the plots which were hatched on tlie Continent. All this effected my ruin. 

" I was then assailed with imputations, for which, however, I had given 
no cause. History will do me justice. I was charged in that affair with 
perfidy, with laying snares, and with bad faith; and yet I was completely 
innocent. Never, whatever may have been said to the contrary, have I 
broken any engagement, or violated my promise, either with regard to Spain 
or any other power. 

"The world will one day be convinced that, in the principal transactions 
relative to +Spain, I was completely a stranger to all the domestic intrigues 
of its court ; that I broke no promise made either to Charles IV. or to Fer- 
dinand VII. ; that I violated no engagement with the father or the son ; that 
I made use of no falsehoods to entice them both to Bayonne, but that they 
both strove which should be first to show himself there. When I saw them 
a.t my feet, and was enabled to form a correct opinion of their total incapacity, 
I beheld with compassion the fate of a great people. I eagerly seized the 
singular opportunity held out to me by Fortune for regenerating Spain, res- 
cuing her from the yoke of England, and intimately uniting her with oui- 
system. It was, in my conception, laying the fundamental basis of the tran- 
quillity and security of Europe. But I was far from employing for that pur- 
pose, as it has been reported, any base and paltry stratagems. If I erred, 
it was, on the contrary, by daring openness and extraordinary energy. Bay- 
onne was not the scene of premeditated ambush, but of a vast master-stroke 
of state policy. I could have preserved myself from these imputations by 
a little hypocrisy, or by giving up the Prince of Peace to the fury of the 



266 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. XVII. 

people. But the idea appeared horrible to me, and struck nie as if I wa& to 
receive the price of hlood. Besides, it must also be acknowledged that Mu- 
rat did me a great deal of mischief in the whole aifair. 




INTERVIEW WITH THE SPANISH PRINCES. 



" Be that as it may, I disdained having recourse to crooked and common- 
place expedients. I found myself so powerful, I dared to strike from a situ- 
ation too exalted. I wished to act like Providence, which, of its own accord, 
applies remedies to the wretchedness of mankind by means occasionally vio- 
lent, but for which it is unaccountable to human judgment. 

" I candidly confess, however, that I engaged very inconsiderately in the 
whole affiiir. Its immorality must Iiave shown itself too openly, its injust- 
ice too glaringly, and the transactions, taken altogether, present a disgust- 
ing aspect, more particularly since my failure ; for the outrage is no longer 
seen but in its hideous nakedness, stripped of all loftiness in idea, and of the 
numerous benefits which it was my intention to confer. Posterity, how- 
ever, would have extolled it had I succeeded, and perhaps with reason, on 
account of its vast and happy results. Such is our lot and such our judg- 
ment in this world ! But I once more declare that in no instance was there 
any breach of faith, any perfidy or falsehood, and, what is more, there was no 
occasion for them. 

"The court and the reigning family," continued the Emperor, " were split 
into two parties. The one was that of the monarch, blindly governed by his 
favorite, the Prince of Peace, who had constituted himself the real king. The 



1816, June.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 267 

other was that of the heir-presumptive, headed bj his preceptor Escoiquiz, 
who aspired to the government. These two parties were equally desirous of 
my support, and made me the most flattering promises. I was, no doubt, 
determined to derive every possible advantage from their situation. 

" The favorite, in order to continue in office, as well as to shelter himself 
from the vengeance of the son in case of the father's death, offered me, in the 
name of Charles IV., to effect in concert the conquest of Portugal, reserving 
as an asylum for himself the sovereignty of Algarva. 

" On the other hand, the Prince of the Asturias (Ferdinand) wrote to me 
privately, without his father's knowledge, soliciting a wife of my choice, and 
imploring my protection. 

"I concluded an agreement with the former, and returned no answer to 
the latter. My troops were already admitted into the Peninsula, when the 
son took advantage of a commotion to make his father abdicate, and to reigu 
in his place. 

"It has been foolishly imputed to me that I took part in all these in- 
trigues ; but so far was I from having any knowledge of them, that the last 
event, in particular, disconcerted all my projects with the father, in conse- 
quence of which my troops were already in the heart of Spain. The two 
parties were aware, from that moment, tliat I might and ought to be the ar- 
biter between them. The dethroned monarch and the son had recourse to 
me, the one for the purpose of obtaining vengeance, and the other for the 
purpose of being recognized. They both hastened to plead their cause be- 
fore me, and they were urged on by their respective counselors, those very 
persons who absolutely governed them, and who saw no means of preserving 
their own lives but by throwing themselves into my arms. 

" The Prince of Peace, who had been very nearly massacred, easily per- 
suaded Charles IV. and his queen to undertake the journey, as they had 
themselves been in danger of falling victims to the fury of the multitude. 

" On his part, the preceptor Escoiquiz, the real author of all the calamities 
of Spain, alarmed at seeing Charles IV. protest against his abdication, and 
in dread of the scaffold unless his pupil triumphed, exerted every means to 
influence the young king. This canon, who had, besides, a very high opinion 
of his own talents, did not despair of making an impression on my decisions 
by his arguments, and of inducing me to acknowledge Ferdinand, making 
me a tender, on his own account, of his services to govern altogether under 
my control as effectually as the Prince of Peace could under the name of 
Charles IV. And it must be owned that, had I listened to several of his 
reasons and adopted some of his ideas, I should have been much better off. 

"When I had them all assembled at Bayonne, I felt a confidence in my 
political system to which I never before had the presumption to aspire. I 
had not made my combinations, but I took advantage of the moment. I here 
found the Gordian knot before me, and I cut it. I proposed to Charles IV. 
and the queen to resign the crown of Spain to me, and to live quietly in 
France. They agreed, I could say almost with joy, to the proposal, so in- 
yeterately were they exasperated against their son, and so earnestly did they 



268 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. XVII. 



.ind their favorite wish to enjoy for the future trauqu.illity and safety. The 
Prince of Asturias made no extraordinary resistance to the phan, but neither 
violence nor threats Avere employed against him ; and if he was influenced 
by fear, which I am very willing to believe, that could only be his concern. 

" There you have, in very few words, the complete historical sketch of the 
affair of Spain ; whatever may be said or written on it must amount to that : 
and you see that there could be no occasion for me to have had recourse to 
paltry tricks, to falsehoods, to breaches of faith, or violation of engagements. 
In order to establish my guilt, it would have been necessary to show my in- 
clination to degrade myself gratuitously. But of that propensity I have 
never g-iven an instance."' 




TORTURE-ROOM OF THE SPANISH INQUISITION. 



Jxme 13. The Emperor was reading, as Las Casas entered his apartment, 
back numbers of the ]\Ioniteur. 

" Those Moniteurs," said Napoleon, " so terrible to many reputations, are 
uniformly favorable to me. It is with official documents that men of sense 



1816, June.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 269 

and talent will now write liistory. Now these documents are fuU of the 
spirit of my government, and to tliera I make an earnest and solemn appeal. 
I made the Moniteur the soul and the life-blood of my government, and it 
was the intermediate instrument of my communications with public opinion, 
both abroad and at home. Every government has since followed my exam- 
ple, more or less, in that respect. 

" Whatever serious fault might be committed by any one of the high func- 
tionaries employed in the interior, immediately an inquiry was set on foot by 
the three councilors of state. They made their report to me, in which they 
ascertained the facts and discussed the principles. For my own part, I had 
nothing more to do than to write at the bottom, '■Dispatched for execution^ 
according to the lams of the liejnihlic or of the Empire.'' My interference 
was at an end, the public result accomplished, and popular opinion did jus- 
tice to the transaction. It was the most formidable and dreadful of my tri- 
bunals. 

"Did any question arise abroad respecting certain gTand political combi- 
nations, or some delicate points of diplomacy ? The objects were indirectly 
hinted at in the Moniteur. They instantly attracted universal attention, and 
became the topics of general investigation. The conduct was at once the 
orderly signal for the adherents of the throne, and an appeal for all parties 
to public opinion. The Moniteur has been reproached for the acrimony and 
virulence of its notes against the enemy ; but, before we condemn these 
notes, we are bound to take into consideration the benefits they may have 
produced, the anxiety with which they have occasionally perplexed the ene- 
my, the terror with which they struck a hesitating cabinet, the stimulus which 
they gave to our allies, and the confidence and intrepidity with which they 
inspired our troops." 

The conversation then turned upon the liberty of the press. The subject 
was for some time discussed with much animation by the companions of the 
Emperor, he listening attentively to their remarks. 

"Nothing," said one, "can resist the influence of a free press. It is ca- 
pable of overthrowing every government, of agitating every society, of destroy- 
ing every reputation." 

"It is only," said another, "its prohibition which is dangerous. If it be 
restricted, it becomes a mine which must explode ; but, if left to itself, it is 
merely an unbent bow, that can inflict no wound." 

"The liberty of the press," said the Emperor, "is no longer a question 
open for consideration. There are institutions now, and the liberty of the 
press is one of them, upon the excellence of which we are no longer called to 
decide, but solely to determine upon the possibility of withholding them from 
the overbearing influence of public opinion. Its prohibition under a repre- 
sentative government is a gross anachronism, a downright absurdity. I 
therefore, on my return from Elba, abandoned the press to all its excesses, 
and I am confident that the press in no respect contributed to my downfall. 
When it was proposed in the council, in my presence, to discuss the means 
of sheltering the authority of the state fi-om its attacks, I rather jocosely re- 



270 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XVII. 

marked, ' Gentlemen, it is probably yourselves you wish to protect, for, with 
respect to me, I shall henceforth continue a stranger to all such proceedings.' 
The press has exhausted itself upon me during my absence, and I now heart- 
ily defy it to produce any thing new or provoking against me." 

Jime 15. Napoleon breakfasted in his bath. A little sliding table was 
put over the bath, upon which the dishes were placed. Conversing with Dr. 
O'Meara upon the manner of living in France and England, the Emperor in- 
quired, 

" Which eats the most, the Frenchman or the Eno-lishman ?" 

" I think the Frenchman," said Dr. O'Meara. 

"I do not think so," the Emperor added. " Tlie French eat but two 
meals a day." 

" Though they nominally," said Dr. O'Meara, " make but two meals, they 
really have four. They take something at nine in the morning, at eleven, at 
four, and at seven or eight in the evening." 

"I," the Emperor replied, "never eat more tlian .twice daily. You En- 
glish always eat four or five times a day. Your cooking is more healthy 
than ours. Your soup is, however, very bad ; nothing but bread, pepper, and 
water. You drink an enormous quantity of wine. Pointkowski, who dines 
sometimes in camp Avith the officers of the 53d, says that they drink by the 
hour ; that after the cloth is removed they pay so mucli an hour, and drink 
as much as they like, which sometimes lasts until four o'clock in the morning." 

" So far from the truth is this," said Dr. O'Meara, "that some of the oflS- 
cers do not drink wine more than twice a week, and that on days in which 
strangers are permitted to be invited. There is a third of a bottle put on for 
each member who drinks wine, and when that is exhausted another third is 
put on, and so on. Members only pay in proportion to what they drink." 

"The Emperor seemed surprised," says O'Meara, "and observed how 
easily a stranger, having only an imperfect knowledge of the language, was 
led to give a wrong interpretation to the customs and actions of other nations." 

It Avas a magnificent day, and the Emperor rode out in his calash. From 
one of the heights, a large ship Avas observed approaching the island. This 
led the Emperor to speak of his numerous friends in Europe Avho would be 
glad to share his exile. He then spoke of the motives Avhich might have in- 
fluenced those who were with him. 

" Bertrand," said he, " is henceforth identified Avith my fate. It is an his- 
torical fact. Gourgaud Avas my first officer of ordnance. He is my own 
Avork. He is my cliild. Montholon is Semonville's son, a brother-in-laAv to 
Joubert, a child of the Revolution and of camps. But you, my friend," said 
he to Las Casas, " you, my good friend, let us know by what extraordinary 
chance you find yourself here ?" 

" Sire," Las Casas replied, " by the influence of my happy stars, and for 
the honor of the emigi*ants." 

June 16. The day was again very fine, and the Emperor, in cheerful spir- 
its, Avalked for a long time in the garden, conversing Avith great familiarity 
and animation upon the scenes through which he had passed. The cele- 



1816, June.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 271 

brated interview at Tilsit was tlie subject upon which his thoughts chanced 
to turn. 

"Had the Queen of Prussia," said he, "arrived at the commencement of 
the negotiations, she might have exercised considerable influence with respect 
to the result. Happily, she arrived when they were sufficiently advanced to 
enable me to decide upon their conclusion four-and-twenty hours afterward. 
The king, it was thought, had prevented her early appearance in consequence 
of a rising jealousy against a great personage, which was confidently stated 
not to have been destitute of some slight foundation. 

" The moment of her arrival I made her a visit. The Queen of Prussia 
had been very beautiful, but she was beginning to lose the charms of her 
youth. She received me like Mademoiselle Duchenais in the character of 
Chimene, thrown back into a grand attitude calling aloud for justice. It 
was altogether a theatrical scene. The representation was truly tragic. For 
a moment I was unable to speak, and thought that the only way of extri- 
cating myself was to bring back the business to the tone of regular comedy, 
which I attempted by presenting her with a chair, and gently forcing her to 
be seated. She did not, however, discontinue the most pathetic expressions. 

" ' Prussia,' she exclaimed, ' has been blindfolded with respect to her pow- 
er. She has dared to contend with a hero ; to oppose herself to the destinies 
of France ; to neglect his auspicious friendship. She has been deservedly 
punished for it. The glory of the great Frederick, his memory and his in- 
heritance, have puffed up the pride of Prussia, and have caused her ruin.' 

" She solicited, supplicated, implored. Magdeburg in particular was the 
object of her efforts and wishes. I kept my ground as well as I could. 
Fortunately, her husband made his appearance. The cjueen reproved, with 
an expressive look, the unseasonable interruption, and showed some pettish- 
ness. In fact, the king attempted to take part in the conversation, spoiled 
the whole affair, and I was set at liberty. 

" I entertained the queen at dinner. She played off all her wit against 
me — she had a great deal ; all her manners, which were very fascinating ; all 
her coquetry — ^she vv^as not without charms ; but I was determined not to 
yield. I found it necessary, however, to keep a great command over myself, 
that I might continue exempt from all kind of engagement and every ex- 
pression which might be taken in a doubtful sense, and the more so because 
I was carefully watched, and peculiarly by Alexander. An instant before^ 
dinner I took a very beautiful rose from a flower-stand and presented it to 
the queen. She at first expressed by the motion of her hand a kind of pre- 
pared refusal, but, suddenly recollecting herself, she said, ' Y^es, hnt at least 
with Magdeburg.'' I replied, ' But I must observe to your majesty that it 
is I who present, and you who are about to receive it.' The dinner and the 
remainder of the time passed over in that manner. 

" The queen was seated at table between the two Emp6rors, who rivaled 
each other in gallantry. She was placed near Alexander's best ear — with 
one ear he can scarcely hear. The evening came, and, the queen having re- 
tired, I resolved to bring matters to a point. I sent for M. de Talleyrand and 



272 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [CnAP. XYII. 

Prince Kouvakin, talked large to tlicm, and, uttering some hard words, 6h- 
served that, after all, a woman and gallantry ought not to alter a system con- 
ceived for the destiny of a great people, and that I insisted upon the imme- 
diate conclusion of the negotiations and signing of the treaty. It took place 
according to my orders. Thus the Queen of Prussia's conversation adviuiced 
the treaty hy a week or fortnight. 

" The queen was preparing to renew her attacks the next day, aiul was 
indignant Avhen slie heard that the treaty was signed. She wept a great 
deal, and resolved not to see the Emperor Napoleon any more. She would 
not accept a second invitation to dinner. Alexander Avas himself obliged tu 
prevail on her. She complained most bitterly, and maintained that Napoleon 
liad broken his Avord. But .;\.lexander had been always present, lie had 
even been a dangerous witness, ready to give evidence of the slightest action 
or word on the part of Napoleon in her favor. ' lie has made you no prom- 
ise,' was his observation to her; 'if you can ]n-ovc the contrary, I here pledge 
myself, as between man and man, to make him keep his promise, and he will 
do so, I am convinced.' 

'' ' But he has oivon me to understand — ' said she, 

*' ' No,' Alexander replied ; ' and you have nothing to reproach him with.' 

" She came up at length. IlaA-ing no longer any occasion to be on my 
guard, I redoubled my attentions. Slie played otV, for a few moments, the 
airs of an offended coquette, and when dinner was over, and she was about to 
ri^rire, I presented my hand and conducted her to the middle of the staircase, 
where I stopped. She squeezed my hand, and said, with a kind of tender- 
ness, 

'• ' Is it possible that, after having been so near to the hero of the century 
and of history, he will not leave me the power and the satisfaction of being- 
enabled to assure him that he has attached me to him for life T 

" 'Madam,' I replied, ' I am to be pitied; it is the result of my unhappy 
star.' 

" I then took leave of her. When she reached the can-iage, she threw 
herself into it in tears, sent for Duroc, whom she highly esteemed, renewed 
all her complaints to him, and said, pointing to the palace, ' There is a place 
in Avhich [ have been cnielly deceived.' 

"The Queen of Pnissia,'' continued the Emperor, "was imqucstionably 
gifted with many happy resources. She possessed a great deal of informa- 
tion, and had many excellent capabilities. It Avas she avIio really reigned for 
more than iifteen years. She also, in spite of my dexterity and all my ex- 
ertions, took the lead in couA-ersation, and constantly maintained the ascend- 
ency. She touched, perhaps too often, upon her faA-orite topic ; but she did 
so, however, Avith great plausibility, and AA'ithout giving the slightest cause 
of uneasiness. It must be confessed that she had an important object in 
vicAv, and that the time was short and precious. 

" I learn that the politicians of the present day find gi-eat fault with my 
treaty of Tilsit. They liaA^e discoA-ered that I had, by that means, placed 
Kurope at the mercy of the Eussians. But if I had succeeded at jMoscow 



1816, June] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 273 

— and it is now known how vciy near I was to success — they would, no 
doubt, have admired us for having, on tlic contrary, by that treaty, placed 
the E-ussians at the mercy of I^^uropc. I entertained great designs with re- 
spect to the Germans, hut I failed, and therefore was wrong. This is accord- 
ing to every rule of justice. 




Tlir; THREE SOVEREIGNS AT TILSIT. 



" Had it been my wish, Alexander would certainly have given me his sis- 
ter in marriage. His politics would have dictated the match, even had his 
inclination been against it. He was petrified when he heard of the marriage 
with Austria, and exclaimed, ' This consigns me to my native forests.' If 
he seemed at first to shift about, it was because some time was necessary to 
enable him to come to a decision. His sister was very young, and the con- 
sent of his mother was requisite. This was settled by Paul's will, and the 
Empress-mother was one of my greatest enemies. She was also the dupe 
of all the absurdities, all the ridiculous stories which had been circulated on 
my personal account. ' How can I,' she exclaimed, 'marry my daughter to 
a man who is unfit to be anyone's husband?'* 'Mother,' said Alexander, 
' can you be so credulous as to believe the calumnies of London and the in- 
sinuations of the saloons of Paris ?' 

" If Alexander's affection for me was sincere, it was alienated from me by 

* The purity of Napoleon's morals was so singular in those days of general corruption, that those 
who could not deny this purity accused him of being •physically impotent. 

s 



274 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChaP. XVII. 

the force of intrigue. Certain persons — Metternicli, or others at the instiga- 
tion of Talleyrand — lost no seasonable opportunity of mentioning instances of 
my turning him into ridicule, and they assured him that, at Tilsit and Er- 
furth, he no sooner turned his back than I took my opportunity of laughing 
at his expense. Alexander is very susceptible, and they must have easily 
soured his mind. It is certain that he made bitter complaints of it at Vienna 
during the Congress, and yet nothing was more false. He pleased me, and 
I loved him. Alexander is in possession of all the graces, and equal, in ele- 
gance of manners, to the most polished and amiable ornaments of our Parisian 
drawing-rooms. The King of Prussia was always awkward and unlucky ; 
Alexander was at times so tired of his companion, who seemed lost in his 
own sorrows or in some other cause, that we mutually agreed to break up our 
common meeting to get rid of him. We separated immediately after dinner, 
under the pretense of some particular business ; but Alexander and I met 
shortly afterward to take tea with one another, and we then continued in con- 
versation until midnight, and even beyond it. 

" I sent Savary, immediately after the treaty of Tilsit, to Alexander at 
St. Petersburg. He was loaded with favors. The efforts and liberality of 
Alexander were inexhaustible to render himself agreeable to his new ally. 
Savary was, on his return from Russia, appointed minister of police in Paris. 
In 1814, just after the restoration of the Bourbons, some one said to him at 
the Tuileries, in a manner quite careless and unreserved, 

" ' Now that all is over, you may as well tell us every thing. Pray who 
was your agent at Hart well V 

" This, as every one knows, was the residence of Louis XVIII. in En- 
gland. Savary, surprised at the indelicacy of the question, replied with dig- 
nity, 

" 'M. le Comte, the Emperor considered the asylum of kings as an invio- 
lable sanctuary. It was a principle which he impressed upon his police, and 
we adhered to it. We have since learned that the same conduct was not ob- 
served with respect to him ; but you, sir, should entertain less doubt than 
any other person. When I arrived at St. Petersburg you were then on the 
side of the king. The Emperor Alexander, in the first warmth of his recon- 
ciHation, acquainted me with every thing that respected you, and asked me 
whether it was the wish of my government that you should be ordered to 
leave his dominions. I had received no instructions on that head. I wrote 
for them to the Emperor. His answer was, by the return of courier, that 
he was satisfied with the sincere friendship of Alexander ; that he would 
never interfere with his private arrangements ; that he entertained no person- 
al hatred against the Bourbons ; and that, if he believed it possible for them 
to accept it, lie would offer them an asylum in France, and any royal resi- 
dence which might be agreeable to them. If you were then ignorant of these 
instructions, you will no doubt find them among the papers of the foreign 
office.' " 



1816, June.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 275 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

1816, June. Continued. 

Arrival of the Commissioners — Etiquette established by Napoleon — Mode of dictating — The Return 
of the Monks — Departure of the Northumberland — Remarks on the History of the Russian Cam- 
paign — Lord Holland — Arrival of Books — Ideas on Political Economy — Annoyance by the Rats 
— Lord Castlereagh — French Heiresses — Allusion by Napoleon to his own History — Summary 
of three Months. 

June 17. Two ships arrived from England, bringing the hill of the Brit- 
ish Parliament respecting the detention of the Emperor, and also bringing 
the commissioners of Russia, Austria, and France, appointed by the AUies 
to watch their dreaded captive. Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm came to re- 
place Sir George Cockburn in the command of the naval station of St. He- 
lena and the Cape of Good Hope. In the course of the day, the Emperor, 
speaking of the etiquette which he had introduced, said, 

" I found it a very difficult thing to give myself up to my own inclina- 
tions. I started into public notice from the multitude. Necessity compelled 
me to form a state of external importance, to model a certain system of so- 
lemnity — in a word, to estabHsh an etiquette. I should otherwise have been 
every day liable to be slapped on the shoulder. In France we are naturally 
inclined to a misplaced familiarity, and I had to guard myself against those 
who had at once, without any preparatory study, become men of education. 
We become courtiers very easily. We are very obsequious in the outset, 
and addicted to flattery and adulation ; but, unless it be repressed, a certain 
familiarity soon takes place, which might, with great facility, be carried as far 
as insolence. It is well known that our kings were not exempt from this in- 
convenience." 

" The Emperor," says Las Casas, " was a scrupulous observer of deco- 
rum. He was very sensible to all the little attentions he received, and though 
it was a sort of system with him to suffer no manifestation of gratitude to 
escape him, yet the expression of his eye or the tone of his voice sufficiently 
denoted what he felt. Unlike those whose lips overflow with the expression 
of the sentiments which their hearts never feel. Napoleon seemed to make it 
a rule to repress or disguise the kind emotion by which he was frequently in- 
spired. 

" I usually sat beside my son while he wrote to the Emperor's dictation. 
The Emperor always walked about the room when dictating, and he frequent- 
ly stood for a moment behind my chair to look over the writing, so that he 
might know where to take up the thread of his dictation. When in this sit- 
uation, how many times has my head been inclosed between his arms, and 
even slightly pressed to his bosom ! Then, immediately checking himself, 
he seemed to have been merely leaning over njy shoulders, or playfully bear- 
ing all his weight upon me, as if to try my strength. 



2T6 



NAPOLEON AT GT. HELENA. 



[Chap. XYIII. 



■:!il miiiiiiSIMl'l 




THL EMPtROR DICTATING 



" The Emperor was very fond of my son, and I have often seen him be- 
stow a manual caress on him, and then, as it were, to do away with the ef- 
fect of his motion, he would immediately accompany it by some words utter- 
ed in a loud and somewhat sharp tone of voice. One day, as he was enter- 
ing the drawing-room, in a moment of good-humor and forgetfulness, I saw 
him take Madam Bertrand's hand and affectionately raise it to liis lips ; but, 
suddenly recollecting himself, he turned away in a manner that would have 
had a very awkward effect had not Madam Bertrand, with that exquisite 
grace for which she is so peculiarly distinguished, removed all embarrassment 
by impressing a kiss on the hand that had been extended to her." 

Jime 18. Dr. O'Meara called, and mentioned that the commissioners from 
Russia, France, and Austria had arrived. 

" Have you seen any of them ?" inquired the Emperor. 

" Yes, sire, I saw the French commissioner." 

"What sort of a man is he?" 

"He is an old emigrant," the doctor replied, "the Marquis of Montchenu, 
extremely fond of talking. While I was standing in the midst of a group 
of officers on the terrace opposite the admiral's house, he came out, and ad- 
dressing himself to me, said, in French, 

" ' If you, or any of you, speak French, for the love of God make it known 
to me, for I do not speak a word of English ! I have arrived here to finish 
my days among the rocks, and I can not speak a word of the language.' " 



1816, June.] 



RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



277 




SCENEKY AT ST. HELENA. 



" Chatterbox ! simpleton !" exclaimed the Emperor. " What folly it is to 
send these commissioners out here ! Without charge or responsibility, they 
will have nothing to do hut to walk about the streets and creep up the rocks. 
The Prussian government has displayed more judgment, and saved its 
money." 

The Emperor spent most of the day alone, reading the European journals 
which had just arrived. Just before dinner he sent for Las Casas, and in 
conversation remarked, 

" France still remains in a state of agitation and uncertainty. One only 
care seems to engross the Bourbons, that of disinterring the dead. Any re- 
mains found, real or supposed, are to them a great affair. It is by the crea- 
tion of monks that they expect to gain those new triumphs which are hence- 
forth to ennoble the nation. It is certain that they wish to do every thing 
in their power to bring poor France again under the dominion of the priests, 
and this more from hypocrisy than from devotion, so fully are they convinced 
that their throne and priestcraft are natural allies, indispensable to enchain 
and to degrade the people. Oh nations ! with all your wisdom, what are every 
where your destinies ? You are the sport of passions and caprice, as a ship 
is driven by the winds. Now we hear only of priests, convents, and ser- 
mons ; all my barracks are to be transformed into monasteries, and perhaps 
there will be a conscription of abbes to replace our conscription of soldiers." 

After dinner he resumed reading the journals, commenting upon them to 
his companions as he read. 

" Present circumstances, the necessities of the moment, and sympathies 



278 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. XYIII. 



of old date, concur in favoring the return of the monks to France. This is 
a characteristic circumstance in France, as in the territories of the Pope. 
As for the Pope, it is liis special affair, and is calculated to restore his pow- 
er. Would any one believe that while he was a prisoner at Fontainebleau, 
and while the question of his own political existence was under considera- 
tion, he argued with me seriously on the existence of the monks, and endeav- 
ored to induce me to re-establish them. This was truly like the court of 
Eome." 

Las Casas alluded to the fact that this day was the anniversary of the 
battle of Waterloo. The remark produced a very visible impression upon 
the Emperor. After a moment of silent thought, he exclaimed, in the most 
affecting tones of emotion and anguish, 




THE RETREAT FROM WATERLOO. 



' ' Incomprehensible day ! Concurrence of unheard-of fatalities ! Grouch}^ ! 
Ney! Derlon! was there treachery or misfortime ? Alas! poor France!" 

Here he covered his eyes with his hands, and for a moment there was en- 
tire silence. Then he continued, 

*' All was not lost until the moment when all had succeeded. Singular 
campaign, in whicli three times in less than a week I saw the certain triumph 
of France, and the establishment of her destinies, escape from my hands. 
Had it not been for the desertion of a traitor, I should have annihilated the 
enemy at the opening of the campaign. I should have destroyed him at 



1816, June.] 



RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



279 




MAP OF WATERLOO. 



Ligny if my left liad done its duty. I 
should have destroyed him again at Wa- 
terloo if ray right had not failed me. Sin- 
gular defeat, by which, notwithstanding 
the most fatal catastrophe, the glory of 
the conquered has not suffered, nor the 
fame of the conqueror Tbeen increased! 
The memory of the one will survive his 
destruction, the memory of the other will 
perhaps be buried in his triumph ! " 

June 19. The Northumberland^ which 
brought the Emperor to St. Helena, this 
day sailed on its return to Europe. The 
departure of the ship revived the most 
melancholy recollections in the bosoms of 
the exiles. The Emperor passed a sleep- 
less night, and was suffering from a vio- 
lent headache. At three o'clock Sir Hud- 
son Lowe called to present Sir Pulteney Malcolm. The Emperor, though 
quite unwell, received the new admiral with much courtesy, and conversed 
with him with frankness and cheerfulness. After they had withdrawn, the 
Emperor said to his friends, 

" I am much pleased with Admiral Malcolm. His look, his attitude, his 
language, are those of an honest man. I really felt pleasure in seeing and 
conversing With him. If he commanded here in the place of that execrable 
Sicilian constable, we should be at peace. Nay, I really believe that, if we 
were the most distrustful of guests, we should gain confidence in him, his ap- 
pearance announces so clearly that his heart is good and that he is an honest 
man." 

Before and after dinner the Emperor amused himself with a work on the 
Russian campaign, written by a former aid-de-camp of the Viceroy Eugene. 
He had heard it described as an odious production, but, accustomed as he 
was to every form of abuse, he did not find the publication so bad as he had 
expected. 

"An historian," said he, "would select from it only what is good. He 
would take the facts and omit the declamation, which is only calculated to 
please imbeciles. The author of this work proves that the Russians burned 
Moscow and Smolensko. He describes the French as having been victori- 
ous in every engagement. The facts that are to be found in this work have 
evidently been described for the purpose of being publfshed during my reign, 
in the period of my power. The declamatory passages have been interpo- 
lated since my fall. The author could not easily pervert the groundwork of 
his subject, though he has interspersed it with abusive remarks, after the 
fashion of the day. As to the disasters of the retreat, I left him nothing to 
say more than other libelists. My twenty-ninth bulletin plunged them into 
despair. In their rage they accused me of exaggeration. They were pro- 



280 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ClIAP. XVIII. 

yoked to a pitch of madness. I thus deprived them of an excellent subject, 
I carried oif their prey." 

In allusion to these efforts of the partisans of the Bourbons to cast dishon- 
or upon France under the Empire, he said, 

*' It is a circumstance unexampled in history to see a nation strive to de- 
preciate her own glory — to see her own sons thus intent on destroying her 
trophies ; but, from the bosom of France, avengers will doubtless rise up. 
Posterity wull brand with disgrace the madness of the present day. Can 
these be Frenchmen who speak and write in this strain ? Are their hearts 
dead to every spark of patriotism ? But no, they can not be Frenchmen I 
They speak our language, it is true ; they were born on the same soil with 
us, but they are not animated by the feelings and principles of Frenchmen." 

June 21. The Fmpcror was w^alking in the garden accompanied by all his 
suite. Dr. O'Meara joined them. The Emperor said to him, 

" I have seen the new admiral. There is a man with a countenance re- 
ally open, intelligent, frank, and sincere. There is the face of an English- 
man. His countenance bespeaks his heart, and I am sure that he is a good 
man. I never yet beheld a person of whom I so immediately formed a good 
opinion as of that fine, soldier-like old man. He carries his head erect, and 
speaks out openly and boldly what he thinks, without being afraid to look 
you in the face at the time. His physiognomy would make every person de- 
sirous of a further acquaintance, and render the most suspicious confident in 
him." 

Some allusion was made to the fact, very gratifying to the Emperor, that 
Lord Holland, and the Duke of Sussex, brother of George IV., had filed 
their _protest in the House of Lords against the illegal imprisonment of Na- 
poleon.* 

"When passions," said he, "are calmed, the conduct of these two peers 
will be handed down to posterity with as much honor as that of the pro- 
posers of the measure will be loaded witli ignominy." 

He asked several questions concerning the reduction of the English army, 
and observed, 

" It is absurd in the English government to endeavor to establish the na- 
tion as a great military power, without having a population sufficiently nu- 
merous to afford the requisite number of soldiers to enable them to vie with 
the great, or even the second-rate Continental powers, while they neglect and 
seem to undervalue the navy, which is the real force and bulwark of En- 
gland. They will yet discover their error." 

* Protest of Lord Holland. 

" To consign to distant exile and imprisonment a foreign captive chief, who, after the abdication 
of his authority, relying on British generosity, had surrendered himself to us in preference to his 
other enemies, is unworthy of the magnanimity of a great country. And the treaties by which, 
after his captivity, we have bound ourselves to detain him in custody, at the will of sovereigns to 
whom he had never surrendered himself, appear to me repugnant to the principles of equity, and 
utterly uncalled for by expedience or necessity. 

"(Signed) Vassall Holland." 

At the third reading of the bill, his royal highness the Duke of Sussex entered his protest for the 
same reasons. 



1816, June.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 281 

The conversation then turned upon the possibility of the exiles ever see- 
ing France again. 

"My dear friends," said the Emperor, in tones of the most touching emo- 
tion and affection, "you will return." 

"Not without you, sire!" all exclaimed, with one voice. 

This led to an analysis of the probable chances of leaving St. Helena, and 
it was the general impression that this could only take place through the in- 
tervention of England. 

"But how," said the Emperor, "can this intervention ever be brought 
about ? The impression is made — it has taken too deep root — they will ev- 
erlastingly fear me. Pitt told them, ' There can be no safety for you witli 
a man who has a whole invasion in his own head.' " 

" But," said Las Casas, " suppose new interests should rise up in England 
— suppose a truly constitutional and liberal ministry should be established, 
would the English government find no advantage in fixing, through you, 
sire, liberal principles in France, and thereby propagating them throughout 
Europe ?" 

" Certainly," replied the Emperor, " I admit all this." 

"Well, then," continued Las Casas, " would not this constitutional admin- 
istration find a guarantee in these liberal principles and in your own inter- 
ests?" 

" I admit this also," the Emperor replied ; "I can suppose Lord Holland, 
as prime minister of England, writing to me at Paris, ' If you do so and so, 
I shall be ruined.' Or I can imagine the Princess Charlotte of Wales, whom 
we will suppose to have removed me hence, saying to me, ' If you act thus, 
I shall be hated, and shall be looked upon as the scourge of my country.' 
At these words I should stop short. They would arrest me in my career 
more effectually than armies. 

" And, after all, what is there to fear ? That I should Wage war ? I am 
now too old for that. Is it feared that I should resume my pursuit of glory ? 
I have enjoyed glory even to satiety, and it may be said to be a thing which 
I have rendered henceforth at once common and difficult. Is it supposed 
that I would recommence my conquests ? I did not persevere in them 
through mania. They were the result of a great plan, and I may even say 
that I was urged to them by necessity. They were reasonable at the mo- 
ment when I pursued them, but they would now be impossible ; they were 
practicable once, but now it would be madness to attempt them ; and, be- 
sides, the convulsions and misfortunes to which France has been subjected 
will henceforth give rise to so many difficulties that to remove them will be 
a sufficient source of glory without seeking for any other." 

TJie Emperor returned to his room, and requested Las Casas to accom- 
pany him. He alluded to the Historical Atlas of Las Casas, a work of 
great celebrity, which the Emperor had examined at St. Helena, and which 
he greatly admired. 

"How happened it," said Napoleon, "that none of your friends should 
have given me a correct idea of it ? I never saw it until I was on board the 



282 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XVIII. 

Worthumherland. Such is tlie misfortune of sovereigns, for certainly no one 
entertained better intentions than myself. Since I have become acquainted 
with the value of your charts, I regret not having established a kind of nor- 
mal school, in which the students would have been uniformly instructed by 
the help of the Historical Atlas. Why did you not call my attention to it ? 
I kncAV nothing of your work ; if I had, it would have been' a powerful cir- 
cumstance in your favor. I was not aware that you had, like myself, attend- 
ed the military school at Paris. That would have been another claim to my 
notice. You had been an emigrant ; you would, therefore, never have enjoy- 
ed my full confidence. I knew that you had been much attached to the 
Bourbons ; you would, therefore, never have been initiated in the great se- 
crets of my government. " 

"But, sire," said Las Casas, "your majesty permitted me to approach 
your person. You made me a councilor of state, and intrusted me with va- 
rious missions." 

" That," the Emperor added, " was because I conceived you to bo an hon- 
est man; and, besides, I am not of a distrustful disposition." 

" Sire," said Las Casas, " I experienced deep mortification at finding that 
your majesty never addressed a word to me at your court circles and levees, 
and yet you never failed to speak of me to my wife when I happened to be 
absent." 

"If I spoke of you when absent," the Emperor replied, "it was because 
I always made it a rule to speak to ladies about their husbands when the 
latter were sent out on missions. If I neglected you when present, it was 
because I attached too little value to you. It is a great fault to keep in the 
background at court. To my eyes you were a mere blank." 

" Sire," continued Las Casas, "my situation was the more painful, since 
my friends were constantly congratulating me upon the favors I received at 
court. It was asserted that I had been created maritime prefect of Brest, 
Toulon, or Antwerj), or that I had received an important trust connected 
with the education of the King of Rome." 

"Well," said the Emperor, "now that you call the matter to my recol- 
lection, some of the reports are not entirely destitute of foundation. I cer- 
tainly did entertain the idea of employing you in the education of the King 
of Rome ; I also intended to appoint you maritime prefect of Toulon. In 
this instance, your friend the minister turned my attention from you. You 
belonged to the old navy, he observed ; your prejudices and those of the 
new officers must inevitably clash. This appeared to me a decided objection 
to your appointment. I think, also, that I entertained some other ideas re* 
specting your advancement ; but I must again repeat, that you neglected 
your own interests ; you retreated when you ought to have marched forward. 
Need I tell you that, with the best intentions on my part the chance against 
procuring an appointment to an important post was as great as that against 
winning a prize in a lottery ? An idea occurred to me, and I formed my de- 
cision ; but, if that decision were not immediately carried into effect, it es- 
caped my recollection, for I had so much business on my hands — But I 
interrupt you." 



1816, June.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 283 

" Sire," continued Las Casas, "being ignorant of your majesty's good in- 
tentions with respect to me, I was placed in a situation truly ridiculous, 
amid the numerous congratulations I received. I never asked your majesty 
for more than one thing, and that was the situation of Master of Requests, 
which was immediately granted to me." 

"It is curious," said the Emperor, " how my memory revives, now that I 
am speaking on this suhject. You addressed several written communica- 
tions to me ; you transmitted to me some plans respecting the Adriatic Sea, 
with which I was much pleased ; you also presented some other things to 
my notice." 

" Sire," said Las Casas, "you probably allude to the ideas respecting the 
system of maritime warfare to be adopted against England, accompanied by 
an explanatory map." 

"Yes, I recollect ; the map lay for several days on the desk in my closet. 
I expressed a wish to see you, but you were absent on a mission," 

" Sire," Las Casas continued, "about the same time I had the honor to 
address to you a plan for transforming the Champ de Mars into a naumachy. 
I purposed that the basin should be dug sufficiently deep to admit the launch- 
ing of small corvettes, which might have been rigged, manned, and worked 
by the pupils of the naval school." 

"Ah!" exclaimed the Emperor, " I was not aware of the extent of your 
plan. This design would have pleased me. It might have produced im- 
mense results. From this plan there was but a step to that of rendering the 
Seine na\dgable, and cutting a canal from Paris to the sea. This could not 
have been regarded as too stupendous an enterprise. More was done by the 
Romans in ancient times, and more has already been effected by the Chinese 
of the present day. It would have afforded a pastime to the army in time 
of peace. I had conceived many plans of the same kind, but our enemies 
kept me chained to war. Of what glory have they robbed me!" 

June 22. Several boxes of books arrived. The Emperor, in his eager- 
ness, helped, with hammer and chisel, in opening the boxes in the topograph- 
ical cabinet. He expressed unfeigned delight in finding a file of the Moni- 
teur, and began immediately to peruse them. 

June 23. The Emperor had been so overjoyed at the receipt of his new 
books, that he had passed the whole night in reading and dictating notes to 
Marchand. He said to O'Meara, pointing to several books he had thrown 
on the floor, according to his custom, after having read them, 

"What a pleasure I have enjoyed! I can read forty pages of French in 
the time that it would require me to comprehend two of English. " 

The conversation naturally turned on the subject of memory. " A head 
without memory," said the Emperor, "is like a garrison without fortifica- 
tions. Mine is a useful kind of memory. It is not general and absolute, 
but relative, faithful, and only retentive of what is necessary." 

" My memory," Las Casas observed, " is like my sight. It becomes con- 
fused by the distance of places and objects as I remove firom one situation to 
another." 



284 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ClIAP. XVIII. 

"For my part," said the Emperor, "my memory is like my heart. It 
preserves a faithful impression of all that has ever been dear to me." 

After dinner he called for the Historical Atlas of Las Casas, and, while 
examining it, began to converse on trade. 

"The principles of political economists," said he, "are correct in theory, 
though erroneous in their application. The political constitutions of different 
states must render these principles defective. Local circumstances continu- 
ally call for deviations from their uniformity. Duties, which are so severely 
condennied by political economists, should not, it is true, be an object to the 
treasury. They should be the guarantee and protection of a nation, and 
should correspond with the nature and the objects of its trade. Holland, 
without productions, without manufactures, having only a commerce of tran- 
sit and commission, ought not to know cither impediments or barriers. 
France, on the contrary, rich in productions, in manufactures of every kind, 
ought incessantly to be on the gaiard against the importations of a rival who 
might still continue superior to her, and also against the cupidity, egotism, 
and indifference of mere commission merchants. 

" I have been careful not to fall into the error of modern sympathizers, 
who imagine that all the wisdom of nations is centred in themselves. Ex- 
perience is the true wisdom of nations. And what does all the reasoning of 
political economists amount to ? They incessantly extol the prosperity of 
England, and hold her up as our model. But the Custom-house system is 
more burdensome and arbitary in England tlian in any other country. They 
also condemn prohibitions. Yet it is England which has set tlie example 
of prohibitions, and they are, in fact, necessary for certain objects. Duties 
can not adequately supply the place of prohibitions. Means will always be 
found to defeat the object of the legislator. In France, we are still far in 
arrears in these delicate matters. They are still unperceived, or not under- 
stood by the mass of society. Yet what advances have we not made ! what 
correctness of ideas has been introduced by my gradual classification of agri- 
cultui'e, manufactures, and trade ! objects so distinct in themselves, and 
which present so great and positive a graduation. 

" 1. Agriculture ; the soul, the first basis of the Empire. 

" 2. Manufactures ; the comfort and liappiness of the population. 

" 3. Foreign commerce ; the superabundance, the proper employ of the 
two others. 

"Agriculture was continually improving during tlie wliole course of the 
Revolution. Foreigners tliought it ruined in France. In 1814, however, the 
English were compelled to admit that we had httle or nothing to learn from 
them. 

" J\lanufactures and internal trade made immense progress during my 
reign. The application of chemistry to manufactures caused them to ad- 
vance with giant sti'ides. I gave an impulse, the effect of which extended 
throughout Europe. 

" Foreign commerce, whicli, in its results, is infinitely inferior to agricul- 
ture, is an object of subordinate importance in my mind. Foreign com- 



1816, June.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 285 

merce is made for agriculture and home manufactures, and not the two latter 
for the former. Tlie interests of these three fundamental bases are diverging 
and frequently conflicting. I always promoted them in their natural grada- 
tion, hut I could not and I ought not to have ranked them all on an equal- 
ity. Time will untold what I have done, the national resources which I have 
created, and the emancipation from the English which I brought about. We 
have now the secret of the commercial treaty of 1783. France still exclaims 
against its author, but the English demanded it on pain of resuming the war. 
They wished to do the same after the treaty of Amiens ; but I was then all- 
powerful — I was a hundred cubits high. I replied that if they were in pos- 
session of the heights of J^Iontmartre, I would still refuse to sign the treaty. 
These words we echoed through Europe. 

" The English will now impose some such treaty on France, at least if 
popular clamor and the opposition of the mass of the nation do not force them 
to draw back. This thraldom would be an additional disgrace in the eyes 
of that nation, which is now beginning to acquire a just perception of her 
own interests. 

"When I came to the head of the government, the American ships, which 
were permitted to enter our ports on the score of their neutrality, brought us 
raw materials, and had the impertinence to sail from France without freight, 
for the purpose of taking in cargoes of English goods in London. They, 
moreover, had the additional impertinence of making their payments, when 
they had any to make, by giving bills on persons in London. Hence the vast 
profit reaped by the English manufacturers and brokers entirely to our preju- 
dice. I made a law that no American should import goods to any amount with- 
out immediately exporting their exact equivalent. A loud outcry was raised 
against this. It was said that I had ruined trade."* But what was the con- 
sequence ? Notwithstanding the closing of my ports, and in spite of the En- 
glish, who ruled the seas, the Americans returned and submitted to my reg- 
ulations. What might I not have done under more favorable circumstances ? 

" Thus I naturalized in France the manufacture of cotton, which includes, 
1. 8;pun cotton ; we did not previously spin it ourselves ; the English sup- 
plied us with it as a sort of favor. 2. The weh ; we did not yet make it ; 
it came to us from abroad. 3. The printing ; this was the only part of the 
manufacture which we performed ourselves. I wished to naturalize the two 
first branches, and I proposed to the Council of State that their importation 
should be prohibited. This excited great alarm. I sent for Oberkamp, and 
conversed with him a long time. I learned from him that this prohibition 
would doubtless produce a shock, but that, after a year or two of persever- 
ance, it would prove a triumph whence we should derive immense advantages. 
Then I issued my decree in spite of all. This was a true piece of states- 
manship {coup d'etat). 

" I at first confined myself merely to prohibiting the web; then I extend- 
ed the prohibition to spun cotton ; and we now possess within ourselves the 
three branches of the cotton manufacture, to the great benefit of our pop- 
ulation, and to the injury and regret of the English, which proves that in 



286 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP.XVIII. 

civil government, as in war, decision of character is often indispensable to 
success. I offered two hundred thousand dollars as a reward for the dis- 
covery of a method of spinning flax like cotton ; and this discovery would 
undoubtedly have been made but for our unfortunate circumstances. I 
should then have prohibited cotton if I could not have naturalized it on the 
Continent. 

" The encouragement of the production of silk was an object that equally 
claimed my attention. As Emperor of France and King of Italy, I calcu- 
lated on receiving an annual revenue of fourteen millions of dollars ii-om the 
production of silk. The system of commercial licenses was no doubt mis- 
chievous. Heaven forbid that I should have laid it down as a principle. It 
was the invention of the English. With me it was only a momentary resource. 
Even the Continental system, in its extent and rigor, was by me I'egarded 
merely as a measure occasioned by the war and temporary circumstances. 
The difficulties, and even the total stagnation of foreign commerce during my 
reign, arose out of the force of events and the accidents of the time. One 
brief interval of peace would immediately have restored it to its natural level.'* 

June 26. Speaking of the campaigns of Italy, Las Casas said to the Em- 
peror, " The rapid successes of your daily victories must have been a source 
of great delight." 

"By no means," the Emperor replied; "those who were at a distance 
might have supposed so, for they knCw only of our success ; they knew noth- 
ing of our situation. If those victories could have procured me pleasure, I 
should have enjoyed repose ; but I had always the aspect of danger before 
me, and the victory of to-day was speedily forgotten through the obligation 
of gaining another to-morrow." 

June 27'. Las Casas records, "We had nearly gone without our break- 
fast. An incursion made by the rats, who had entered our kitchen from sev- 
eral points during the night, had deprived us of every thing eatable. We 
are much infested by these animals. They are of enormous size, and very 
daring and mischievous. It took them very little time to penetrate our walls 
and floors. Attracted by the smell of the victuals, they would make their 
way into our drawing-room while we were at dinner. We were several times 
obliged to give them battle after the dessert. One evening, when the Em- 
peror Avished to retire, and his hat was handed to him, a rat of the largest 
size jumped out of it." 

During the day the Emperor was reading an English review, in which it 
was stated that Lord Castlereagh had asserted at a public meeting that Na- 
poleon, ever since his fall, had not hesitated to declare that, as long as he had 
reigned, he would have continued to make war upon England, having never 
had any object but her destruction. 

The Emperor was indignant at the base calumny. "Lord Castlereagh," 
said he, with much feeling, " must be very familiar with falsehood, and must 
place great dependence on the credulity of his auditors. Can their own good 
sense allow them to believe that I could ever make such a foolish speech, 
even if I had such intentions ?" 



1816, June.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 287 

It was again stated, in the same review, that Lord Castlereagh had said 
in Parliament that the reason why the French army was so much attached 
to Bonaparte was that he made a kind of conscription of all the heiresses of 
the empire, and distributed them among her generals. 

"Here again," the Emperor exclaimed, with warmth, "Lord Castlereagh 
utters a willful falsehood. He came among us. He had an opportunity of 
seeing our manners arid laws, and of knowing the truth. He must he cer- 
tain that such a thing was quite impossible, entirely beyond my power. 
What does he take our nation for ? The French were never capable of sub- 
mitting to such tyranny. I have, no doubt, made a great number of match- 
es, and I would gladly have made thousands more. It was one of the most 
effectual methods of amalgamating and uniting irreconcilable factions. If I 
had had more time to myself, I should have taken great pains to extend these 
unions to the provinces, and even to the confederation of the Rhine, in order 
to strengthen the connection of those distant portions of the empire with 
France ; but in such proceedings I only exerted my influence, and never my 
authority. Lord Castlereagh disregards such distinctions. It is important 
to his policy to render me odious. He is not scrupulous about the means. 
He does not shrink from any calumny. He has every advantage over me. 
I am in chains. He has taken all precautions for keeping my mouth shut, 
and preventing the possibility of my making any reply, and I am a thousand 
leagues from the scene of action. His position is commanding. Nothing 
stands in his way. But certainly this conduct is the ne jplus ultra of impu- 
dence, baseness, and cowardice." 

June 28. Sir Hudson Lowe called upon General Bertrand, and stated 
that it had been expected in London that the permission which had been of- 
fered to the members of the Emperor's household to return to Europe would 
have induced many of them to leave. The government, he said, had never 
intended to allow the Emperor more than a table for four persons daily, at 
the most, and for company to dine once a week.* 

June 30. The Emperor sent for Las Casas to breakfast with him. He 
was sick, exceedingly depressed in spirits, and quite unable to converse. 
Chance having led to the mention of London, the Emperor said, languidly, 

" You must have seen at London the court, the king, the Prince of Wales, 

* Earl Bathurst wrote to Sir Hudson Lowe, " I think it necessary that you should lose no time 
in regulating, and, if necessary, abridging the expenditure of Bonaparte's table and household, so 
that the annual cost may not exceed £8000, including wines and extraordinaries of every kind. In 
case of his remonstrating against the retrenchments which this regulation may occasion, you are 
at liberty to allow him the full extent of the indulgences he may require, in regard to table and so 
forth, provided he will produce the funds necessary to cover the expense beyond the £8000 a year. 
That he can command the pecuniary means I apprehend that there is no doubt ; and he must pay 
the salaries and wages of such of his followers and servants as may persevere in remaining with 
him ; but I hope you will persuade most of them to accept the release we have offered. 

" (Signed), Bathurst." 

Sir Henry Bunbury also wrote, at the same time, to the governor, "By an intercepted letter to 
Bonaparte, which Sir George Cockburn sent home, it is clear that the ex-Emperor has large sums 
of money in different parts. We have been unable hitherto to obtain any ckw to this matter ; it is 
very desirable to discover both the treasure and the agents .'" — See Letters and Journals of Sir Hud- 
son Lowe, vol. i., p. 170. 



288 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. XVIII, 



Mr. Pitt, Mr. Fox, and other great personages who figured at that thne. TeU 
me what you know of them. What did people think of them ? Give me 
an historical sketch." 

The Emperor listened, occasionally asking a question, while Las Casas 
gave a long and a very interesting account of the events of his emigration. 
At its conclusion Napoleon remarked, 

" It has heen said of me that scarcely had I attained power when I exer- 
cised a despotic and arbitrary sway. But it was rather a dictatorship ; and 
the circumstances of the times will be a sufficient excuse for me. I have 
also been reproached with having suffered myself to be intoxicated with 
pride at my alliance with the house of Austria, and having thought myself 
more truly a sovereign after my marriage — in fact, of having considered my- 
self, from that time, as Alexander, become the son of a god. 

" But can all this be just ? Did I really fall into such errors ? A young, 
handsome, agreeable woman fell to my lot. Was it inadmissible for me to 
testify some satisfaction ? Could I not devote a few moments to her without 
incurring blame ? Was I not to be allowed to surrender myself to a few 
hours of happiness ? Was I required to use my Avife ill from the very first 
night, like your Prince of Wales ? Or was I, like the sultan we have read 
of, to have her head struck off in order to escape the reproaches of tlie mul- 
titude ? No, my only fault in that alliance was that of carrying too plcbe- 




^yl.POLtO^ iHOc-E.N uORPOBaL. 



1816, June.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 289 

ian a heart within me. How often have I said that the heart of a statesman 
ought to he in his head ! Mine, unfortunately, in this instance, remained in 
its place, subject to family feelings, and this marriage ruined me, because I 
believed, above all things, in the religion, the piety, the morality, and the 
honor of Francis. He has cruelly deceived me. I am willing to believe 
that he was himself deceived, and I forgive him with all my heart. But will 
history spare him ? If, however — " 

Here Napoleon remained for a moment in silent meditation, his forehead 
resting upon his hand. Then rising from his chair, he remarked, "But what 
a romance is my life ! Open the door. Let us walk out." 

The attachment of the soldiers to Napoleon was very peculiarly strong and 
tender. They usually called him "The Little Corporal." This title was 
conferred upon him by the soldiers after one of his signal victories in the First 
Italian Campaign. 

At one time Napoleon was alone at night taking the round of his outposts, 
when he came to a point where a sentinel was stationed, who refused to allow 
liim to pass. The faithful young soldier was a new recruit, and he did not 
recognLze Napoleon. 

" I am a general officer," said Napoleon, " and am in the discharge of my 
duties." 

" I can not help that," said the sentinel. " I have orders to let no one 
pass; and if you were the Little Corporal himself, you should not go by." 

Napoleon was compelled to turn 'back ; but the next day he sent for the 
faith&l soldier, and rewarded him for his fidelity. 




THE SENTINEL AND THE LITTLE CORPORAL. 



T 



290 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. XYIII. 



^Ivs. Abell, then Miss Betsy Balcombe, thus describes a visit which she 
made about this time to Longwood : 

" Before terminating our visit, Napoleon took us over the garden and 
grounds which surrounded his house. Nothing coukl exceed the dreariness 
of the view which presented itself from them. A spectator unaccustomed 
to the savage and gigantic scenery of St. Helena could not fail to be impress- 
ed with its singularity. On the opposite side the eye rested on a dismal and 
rugged-looking mountain, whose stupendous side was here and there diversi- 
tied by patches of wild samphire, prickly pears, and aloes, serving to break 
but slightly the uniform sterility of the iron-colored rocks, the whole range 
of which exhibited little more than huge apertures of caverns and overhang- 
ing cliffs, which, in the early years of the colonization of the island, afforded 
•shelter to herds of wild goats. I remember hearing Madam Bertrand tell 
my mother that one of Napoleon's favorite pastimes was to watch the clouds 
as they rolled over the highest point of that gigantic mountain, and, as the 
mists wreathed themselves into fantastic draperies around its summit, some- 
times obscuring the valleys from sight, and occasionally stretching themselves 
out far to sea, his imagination would take wing, and indulge itself in shaping 
out the future from those vapory nothings." 




Las Casas gives the following summary of April, May, and June : 

"1. A new governor arrives, who turns out to be a man of either very 
narrow- views or very bad intentions — a corporal with his watchword instead 
of a general with his instructions. 

" 2. A declaration is required from every one of the captives that he sub- 
mits to all the restrictions that may be imposed on Napoleon, and this in 
the hope of detaching them from his person. 

"3. An official communication is made to us of the convention of the al- 
lied sovereigns, who, without further ceremony, proclaim and consecrate the 
banishment of Napoleon. 

"4. We receive the bill of the British Parliament wliich converts into a 
law the act of oppression of the English ministers toward the person of Na- 
poleon. 



1816, July.] RESIDENCE AT LONG WOOD. 291 

" 5. Commissioners come, in the name of tlieir sovereigns, to watch over 
the fetters and contemplate the sufferings of the victims. Thus our hori- 
zon grows darker and darker, our chains are shortened, all hopes of amelio- 
ration vanish, and the most gloomy prospects are all that the fature presents. 

" The Emperor's health is visibly affected. Contrary to his natural tem- 
perament, he very frequently feels indisposed. On one occasion he was con- 
fined to his room for six days in succession. A secret melancholy, which 
endeavors to conceal itself from every eye, begins to take possession of him. 
The latent seeds of disease appear already to be lurking in his system. He 
contracts every day the circle, already so confined, of his movements and his 
diversions. He gives up riding on horseback. He no longer invites any 
Englishmen to dinner. He even abandons his daily occupations. The dic- 
tations, in which he had hitherto seemed to take pleasure, are at a stand. 
The greatest part of his days are passed in turning over some books in his 
own apartment, or in conversing with us either publicly or in private *, and 
in the evening, after his dinner, he reads to us some plays of our great poets, 
or any other work which chance or the choice of the moment brings to his 
hand. 

" Yet the serenity of his mind, the equanimity of his disposition toward 
us, are not in the least impaired. On the contrary, we seem more united — 
like one family. He is more ours, and we belong more to him. His con- 
versations offer a greater degree of confidence, effasion, and interest." 



CHAPTER XIX. 

1816, July. 



Pillage in War — Character of the French Soldier — Anecdotes of Brumaire — Sieyes — Grand Elect- 
or — Cambaceres — New Vexations — Little Tristam — Difficulty of judging Men — Junot : his 
AVife — Bernadotte — Lannes — Murat : his Character and Death. 

July 1. The son of Las Casas was slightly injured by being thrown from 
his horse. The Emperor kindly called to visit the little sufferer, whose foot 
was badly sprained. He then went into the garden, and breakfasted under 
a tree with Las Casas. The conversation turned upon pillage by armies, and 
the horrors occasioned by it. 

"Pavia,"said the Emperor, "is the only place I have ever given up to 
pillage. I had promised it to the soldiers for twenty-four hours ; but, af^er 
tluree hours, I could bear it no longer, and I put an lend to it. I had but 
twelve hundred men ; the cries of the populace which reached my ears pre- 
vailed. If there had been twenty thousand soldiers, their numbers would 
ha;ve drowned the complaints of the people, and I should have heard notliing 
of it. Happily, however, poHcy and morality are equally opposed to the sys- 
tem of pillage. I have meditated much on this subject, and have often been 
urged to gratify my soldiers in this manner, but nothing is so certain to dis- 
organize and completely ruin an army. A soldier loses all discipline as soon 
as he gets an opportunity to pillage ; and if by pillage he enriches himself, 



292 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. XIX. 



he immediately becomes a bad soldier, and will not fight. Besides pllage 
fs incompatible with our French manners. The hearts of our soldiers are 
not bad- when the first transport of fury is over, they come to themselves 
as-ain It would be impossible for French soldiers to pillage for twenty-four 
hours • many of them would employ the latter part of the time m repairmg 
the mischief they had done in the beginning. They afterward reproach each 
other in their quarters, with the excesses they have committed, and load with 
reprobation and contempt those whose conduct has been particularly odious. 






HONOR TO UNFORTUNATE COURAGE. 



The Emperor was very attentive not only to his own wounded, but also 
to the wounded of the enemy. After one of his most signal victories, as he 
was riding along with his staff, he met a wagon laden with wounded Austn- 



1816, July.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 293 

ans. He immediately stopped, took off his liat, and saying, " Honor to un- 
fortunate courage," remained uncovered till tlie sad procession had passed 
along. 

The Emperor took a rapid ride in the calash with Las Casas alone. The 
day was fine. He was in cheertul spirits, and very social. " He spoke much 
of my son," says Las Casas, " and of his future prospects, with a degree of 
interest and kindness which went to my heart. After dinner his companions 
collected around him, and the conversation turned on the overthrow of the 
Directory on the 18th Bmmaire." 

"My situation," said the Emperor, "on my return from Egypt was un- 
precedented. I found myself immediately applied to by all parties, and was 
intrusted with all their secrets. There were three which were particularly 
distinct : the Manege^ or Jacobins, of which Bernadotte was one of the lead- 
ers ; the Moderates^ directed by Sieyes ; and the Rotten party, with Barras 
at their head. The determination which I formed to ally myself with the 
Moderates exposed me to great danger. With the Jacobins I should have 
risked nothing. They offered to name me Dictator ; but, after conquering with 
them, it would have been necessary, almost immediately, to conquer against 
them. A club can not endure a permanent chief; it wants one for every suc- 
cessive passion. Now to make use of a party one day in order to attack it 
the next, under whatever pretext it is done, is still a piece of treachery. It 
was inconsistent with my principles. 

"It is certain that there never was a great revolution which caused less 
■ inconvenience, it was so generally desired. It was consequently crowned 
with universal applause. For my part, all my share in the plot for effecting 
this change was confined to the assembling the whole crowd of my visitors 
at the same hour in the morning, and marching at their head to seize on pow- 
er. It was at the threshold of my door, from the top of vixj own steps, and 
without my friends having any previous knowledge of my intentions, that I 
led them to this conquest. It was amid the brilliant escort they formed, 
their lively joy and unanimous ardor, that I presented myself at the bar of 
the Ancients to thank them for the dictatorship with which they invested me. 

"Metaphysicians have disputed, and will long dispute, whether we did not 
violate the laws, and whether we were not criminal ; but these are mere ab- 
stractions, at best fit for books and tribunes, and which ought to disappear 
before imperious necessity. One might as well blame a sailor for waste and 
destruction when he cuts away his masts to avoid being overset. The fact 
is, had it not been for us, the country must have been lost. We saved it. 
The authors and chief agents of that memorable state transaction may and 
ought, instead of denials and justifications, to answer their accusers proudly, 
like the Eoman : ' We jjrotest that toe have saved our country. Come with 
us and render thanlcs to the gods.'' 

" Surely all those who at that time took a part in the political turmoil 
have the less cause to complain, since every thing conspired to render a 
change inevitable. All desired it, and each one endeavored to effect it for 
his own party. I secured the ' change by the aid of the Moderates. The 



294 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XIX. 

sudden termination of anarchy, the immediate return of ordei", of union, of 
strength, and of glory, were the results. Would the triumph of either of the 
other parties have been more favorable ? We may surely say no I Never- 
theless, it is very natural that they should have been dissatisfied, and thai 
they should have raised loud cries of remonstrance. It belongs to futiue 
times and to disinterested men to give an impartial judgment upon that great 
attair. 

" Moreover, contemplate two facts which will aid one in forming an esti- 
mate of the true condition of the republic at the time oi Jjrumain'. After 
that day there Avas not sutiicient money in the treasury to send out a courier : 
and when the consul wished to ascertain the precise force of the army, he 
was compelled to apply to persons at those distant places. 'You ought," 
said he, 'to have on iile a list of those in the army.' 

" ' Of what advantage would it be f was the reply. ' There are s-o many 
changes that the soldiers can not be counted.' 

'* ' But at least you ought to know the amount of pay which is due — ' 

" ' We do not pay them.' 

" ' But the food — * 

'* ' We do not feed them." 

'' ' But the clothing — ' 

" ' AVe do not clothe them.' 

"When we were about to fix on a Constitution," continued the Kmperor, 
'* Sieyes treated us with a very entertaining scene. Circumstances and pub- 
lic opinion had made him a sort of oracle in these matters. He accordingly 
unfolded his various propositions in the committees of the two councils Avith 
great mystery, importance, and method. They were all adopted, good, im- 
perfect, or bad. Finally, he crowned the Avork by displaying the smnmit, 
Avhicli had been expected with lively and anxious impatience. He proposed 
a Grand Elector, who was to reside at A'ersailles, to enjoy twelve hundred 
thousand dollars a year, to represent the national dignity, and to have no 
other duty than the nomination of two consuls, one for peace and the other 
for Avar, entirely independent in their functions. MoreoA'cr, if this Klector 
should make a bad choice, the Senate Avas to absorb liim himself. This AA'as 
the technical expression, meaning to remove him by replacuig him, as a pun- 
ishment, in the croAvd of priA'ate citizens. 

'' For Avant of experience in assemblies, and also througli a dcgTce of cir- 
cumspection Avhich the circumstances of the moment required, I had taken 
little or no share in AA'hat had preceded, but hoaa", at this decisive point, I be- 
gan to laugh in Sieyes's face, and to cut up all his metaphysical nonsense 
Avithout mercy. Sieyes did not like to defend himself, nor did he knoAv \\o\\ 
to do it. He made the atteiupt, hoAvever, by saA-ing, 

'• • After all, a kino- is notliino- more.' 

"'But,' Napoleon replied, 'you take the abuse for the principle; the 
shadow for the body ; and hoAv can you imagine, M. Sieyes, that a man of 
any talent or the least honor Avill resign himself to act the part of a pig fat- 
tenins; on a fcAv millions ?' 



1816, July.] RESIDENCE AT LOxNGWOOD. 295 

"After this sally, which made those who were present laugh immoderate- 
ly, Sieyes remained overwhelmed. It was no longer in his power to resume 
the subject of his Grand Elector. A First Consul was determined on, who 
was to have the supreme decision and nomination of all offices, with two ac- 
cessory consuls, who were to have deliberative voices only. It was, in fact, 
fi-om that moment a unity of power. The First Consul wan precisely tlie 
President of America, veiled under the forms which the irritable spirit of the 
times rendered necessary. My reign began in reality from that day. 

" I regretted in some measure that Sieyes had not been nominated one 
of the consuls. Sieyes, who at first refused the appointment, afterward re- 
gretted it himself, but not until it was too late. He had fallen into a mis- 
take respecting the nature of these consuls. He was fearful of mortification, 
and of having the First Consul to contend with at every step, which would 
have been the case had all the consuls been equal. We should then have 
all been enemies. But the Constitution having made them subordinate, there- 
was no room for the struggles of obstinacy, no cause for enmity, but a thou- 
sand reasons for a genuine unanimity. Sieyes discovered this, but too late. 
He might have been very useful in council, better, perhaps, than the others, 
because he had occasionally novel and most luminous ideas, but in other 
respects he was wholly unfit to govern. 

" After all, in order to govern, it is necessary to be a military man. One 
can only rule in boots and spurs. Sieyes, without being fearful, was always 
in fear. His police spies disturbed his rest. At the Luxembourg, during the 
provisional consulate, he often awakened me and harassed me about the new 
plots he every moment heard of from his private police. 

" ' Have they corrupted our guard?' I would say to him. 

"'No!' 

*•' ' Then go to bed. In war, my dear sir, as in love, we must come to 
close quarters to conclude matters. It w^ill be time enough to be alarmed 
when our six hundred men are attacked.' 

" For the permanent government I had chosen, in Cambaceres and Lebrun, 
two distinguished characters. Both were pmdent, moderate, and able, but 
they were of completely opposite principles. The one was the advocate of 
abuses, prejudices, old institutions, and the revival of honors and distinc- 
tions. The other was cold, austere, insensible, contending against all these 
ideas, yielding to them without illusion, and naturally falling into ideology. 
Sieyes might have contributed to give a different color, another characteris- 
tic, to the imperial administration." 

" But this variation," said Las Casas, " would have been injurious. Your 
majesty's choice was much approved of at the time. It was said that the 
men selected were not liable to be objected to by Europe. They greath" 
contributed to conciliate public opinion in France, which ran wholly against 
Sieyes. There was an anecdote, eagerly repeated at the time, which shows 
all the ill-will that was borne toward him. It was said that, while he was 
talking with the Emperor at the Tuileries about Louis XVI., he suffered the 
word tyrant to esc'ape him. 



296 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XIX. 

" 'M. ALbe,' the Emperor was said to have replied, 'if Louis XVI. had 
been a tyrant, you would now be saying mass, and I should not be here.' 

"The Emperor smiled at this anecdote," says Las Casas, "without con- 
firming or denying it. It will hereafter appear that it was false.'' 

July 6-8. Las Casas complains bitterly of the merciless vexations of Sir 
Hudson Lowe. " He has just," he writes, "withheld from us some letters 
from Europe, although they came open and in the most ostensible manner, 
merely because they had not passed through the hands of the secretary of 
state, without considering that a want of formality can easily be rectified in 
England, but that it is irremediable at the distance of six thousand miles. 
It is not many days since, the Countess Bertrand having "svritten to town, he 
had the note seized, and sent it back to her as having been written without 
his permission. He accompanied this insult with an official letter, by which 
he prohibited us for the future from all written or even verbal communication 
with the inhabitants, without submitting it to his approbation. To one of 
his communications, in which he said that, if the restrictions imposed on us 
seemed too hard, we might relieve ourselves from them by going away, the 
Emperor dictated the following addition to the answer we had already written : 
' Having been honored by him during his prosperity, we consider it our chief 
pleasure to serve him now that he can do nothing for us. If there are persons 
to whom this conduct is incomprehensible, so much the worse for them.' " 

July 11. The governor had issued a proclamation ordering that all letters 
and notes addressed by the residents at Longwood to any of the inhabitants 
of the island, on any occasion whatever, should be sent to him within twen- 
ty-four hours. He also forbade the inhabitants to visit General Bertrand 
and his wife, who resided at the entrance of Longwood. This blockade was 
at one time so vigorous, that some medicine sent by the doctor for a very sick 
person could not be delivered. It was only by way of accommodation that 
the officer at last ventured to pass the medicine over the wall, having first 
torn from the bottle the directions of the physician, which were written in a 
language which he did not understand, and which, he apprehended, might con- 
tain some dantrerous intellis-ence. 
o o 

Madam ]\Iontholon had been for several weeks confined to her room. The 
Emperor frequently visited her, and conversed for half an hour at her bed- 
side. To-day he met little Tristam Montholon, a bright and playful child 
seven or eight years of age. The Emperor placed him between his knees 
and taught him some fables. Tristam confessed to the Emperor that he did 
not work every day. 

"Do you not cat every day?" said the Emperor. 

" Yes, sire." 

" Well, then, you ought to Avork every day ; no one should cat who does 
not work." 

" Oh ! if that be the case, I will work every day," said the child, quickly. 

" Such is the influence of the stomach," said the Emperor, tapping that of 
little Tristam ; "it is hunger that makes the world move. Come, my little 
man, if you are a good boy we will make a page of you." 



1816, July.] 



RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



297 



";"'! '''"i"'>/'^i|[ranr-'^ 



wv^iiw V 




THE EMPEROR AND LITTLE. TRI^TAM 



In the afternoon tlie Emperor was reading. He came to a passage where 
the author observed that the face often gave a false idea of the charac- 
ter. The Emperor paused, laid down the hook, and said, in tones of convic- 
tion, 

*^ This is most true ; and it is also trae that no study will enable us to avoid 
this deception. How many proofs of this kind have I had ! For instance, 
I had a person about me : his countenance was undoubtedly good, but, after 
all, he had a mischievous eye ; I ought to have guessed something from that. 
We had known each other from infancy. I had long placed entire confidence 
in this individual, who had talents and resources ; I even thought he was at- 
tached knd. faithful to me ; but he was much too covetous — he was too fond 
of money. When I was dictating to him, and he sometimes had to write 
■millions, it was never without a peculiar change of countenance, a licking of 
his lips, and a restlessness in his chair, which several times induced me to 
ask what ailed him. This vice was too glaring to allow me to retain this 
person about me. But, considering his other qualities, I ought, perhaps, to 
have contented myself with removing him into a different situation." 

July 12. The Emperor was sick and much dejected. Dr. O'Meara called, 
in behalf of the governor, to inquire whether General Bonaparte would prefer 
to have the house at Longwood enlarged and repaired, or to have a new house 
erected in another part of the island. 

" In this wretched place," replied the Emperor, " I wish for nothing from 
him. I hate this Longwood. The sight of it makes me melancholy. Let 
him put me in some place where there is shade, verdure, and water. Here, 
it either blows a furious wind, loaded with rain and fog, which afflicts my 
soul, or, if that is wanting, the sun broils my brain, through the want of 
shade, when I go out. Let him put me on the Plantation House side of the 
island if he really wishes to do any thing for me. But what is the use of 
his coming up here, proposing things and doing nothing? There is Ber- 



298 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [Chap. XIX. 

trancl's liovise, not the least advanced since his amvah The admiral, at least, 
sent his carpenter here, who made the work go on." 

"The governor," said CVjMeara, "has desired me to say that he did not 
like to undertake any thing Avitliout iirst knowing that it would meet with 
your approval ; hut that, if you will propose a plan for the house, he will 
immediately order every workman on the island to set about it. The gov- 
ernor fears that making additions to the present building will annoy you by 
the noise of the workmen." 

"Certainly it would," replied the Emperor; "I do not wish him to do 
any thing to this house, or on this dismal place. Let him build a house on 
the other side of the island, where there is shade, verdure, and water, and 
\\herc I may be sheltered from this bleak wind. If it is determined to build 
a new house for my use, I would wish to have it erected on tlie estate of 
Colonel Smith, or at Rosemary Hall. But his proposals are all a delusion. 
Nothins: advances since he came. Look at those Avindows ! I Avas oblig-ed 
to order a pair of sheets to be put up as curtains, as the otliers were so dirty 
that I could not approach them, and none could be obtained to replace them. 
Fie is a bad man, and worse tlian the island. Observe his conduct to that 
poor lady, jMadam Bcrtrand ! He has deprived her of the little liberty she 
had, and has prevented people from coming to visit and to chat an hour with 
her, which Avas some little solace to a lady Avho had ahvays been accustomed 
to see company." 

"The goA'ernor lias said," O'Meara replied, "that it Avas in consequence 
of Madam Bertrand liaA'ing sent a note to the French commissioner, JMarquis 
JMontchcnu, Avitliout having caused it to pass through the governor's hands." 

" Trash !" the Emperor replied. " By the regulations in existence when 
he arrived, it Avas permitted to send notes to residents, and no communica- 
tion AA'as made to them of an alteration having taken place. Besides, could 
not she and her husband liaA^e gone to town to see Montchenu ? Weak men 
are ahvays timorous and suspicious. This man is fit to be the head of a 
police gang, but not a gOA'ernor." 

Dr. 0"]\leara reported to Sir Pludson Lowe the situations the Emperor had 
suggested for the ucav house, but the gOA-ernor refused to accept either of 
them, saying that General Bonaparte could not be so easily Avatched in ei- 
ther of those places. 

Julij 13. The con\'ersation turned upon Junot, the Duke of Abrantes, 
"Of the considerable fortunes," said Napoleon, "which the Emperor be- 
stOAved, that of Junot AA'as one of the most extraA^agant. The sums conferred 
upon him almost exceeded belief, and yet he Avas ahvays in debt. He 
squandered treasures without credit to himself, Avithout discernment or taste, 
and too frequently in gross debaucherA-. Being fond of Junot, and actuated 
by a sort of feeling derived from the similarity of birth-place, he being also 
originally from Corsica, I one day sent for JMadam Junot to give her some 
paternal admonitions on the subject of the extraA'agance of her husband's ex- 
penditure, the profusion of diamonds A\-hieh she herself had inconsiderately 
displayed after her return from Portugal, and her intimate connections Avith 



1816, July.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 299 

a, certain foreigner, which might give umbrage in a political point of view. 
But she rejected this advice, dictated alone hj concern for her interest. She 
grew angry, and behaved like a child. Nothing then remained for me to do 
but to abandon her to her fate. She fancied herself a princess of the family 
of the Commines, and Junot had been made to believe it when he was in- 
duced to marry her. Her family was from Corsica, and resided in the neigh- 
borhood of mine. They were under great obligdtions to my mother, not 
merely for her benevolence toward them, but for services of a more positive 
nature." 

Jidy 14. The subject of dress came up at the dinner-table. 

" None," said Las Casas, " had carried the ridiculous in that point farther 
than Murat. His dress was for the most part so singular and fantastic, that 
the public called him King Franconi."* 

The Emperor laughed very heartily at this, and said, " Certain costumes 
and manners did indeed sometimes give to Murat the air of a quack operator 
or a mountebank." 

"Bernadotte and Lannes," added Las Casas, "also took infinite pains 
with their dress." 

" I am surprised to hear this," said the Emperor. " Poor Lannes ! How 
sincerely I regretted his loss ! He passed the night which preceded the bat- 
tle of Essling in Vienna, and not alone. He appeared on the field without 
having taken any food, and fought the whole day. The physician said that 
this triple concurrence of circumstances caused his death. He required a 
great deal of strength after the wound to enable him to bear it, and, unfor- 
tunately, nature was almost exhausted before. 

"It is generally observed that there are certain wounds to which death 
seems preferable, but this is seldom the case, I assure you. It is at the 
moment we are about to part with existence that we cling to it with all our 
might. Lannes, the most courageous of men, deprived of both his legs, would 
not hear of death. He had, unfortunately, overheard the two surgeons who 
attended him whisper to each other, as they thought without being over- 
heard, that it was impossible he could recover. He was irritated to that de- 
gree that he declared that the surgeons deserved to be hanged for behaving so 
brutally toward a marshal. Every moment the unfortunate Lannes called 
for the Emperor. He twined himself around me with all he had left of life. 
He would hear of no one but me ; he thought but of me. It was a kind of 
instinct. Undoubtedly he loved his wife and children better than me, yet 
he did not speak of them. It was he who protected them, while I, on the 
contrary, was his protector. I was, for him, something vague and undefined 
— a superior being — his providence, which he implored." 

"Rumor, in the saloons," said Las Casas, "has spoken a different lan- 
guage. It was reported that Lannes died like a maniac, vociferating impre- 
cations against the Emperor, at whom he seemed enraged. It was said that 
he had always had an aversion to the Emperor, and had often manifested it 
to him with insolence." 

* Director of a theatre in Paris. 



300 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XIX. 

"What an absurdity!" the Emperor rephed. "Lannes, on the contrary, 
adored me. He was assuredly one of the men on whom I could most im- 
plicitly rely. It is very true that, in tlie impetuosity of his disposition, he 
has sometimes suffered some hasty expressions against me to escape his lips, 
but he would probaLly have broken the head of any person who chanced to 
hear them." 

Reverting to Murat, Las Casas remarked that he had greatly influenced 
the unfortunate events of 1814. 

" He determined them," said the Emperor. " He is one of the principal 
causes of our being here. But the fault is originally mine. There were 
several men whom I had made too great. I had raised them above the 
sphere of their intelligence. I was reading, some days ago, Murat's procla- 
mation on abandoning the viceroy, which I had not seen before. It is diffi- 
cult to conceive any thing disgraced by a greater degree of turpitude. He 
says in that document that the moment has come to choose between two 
banners — that of crime or that of virtue. It is my banner which he calls 
the banner of crime ! And it is Murat, my creation, the husband of my sis- 
ter, the man who owed every thing to me, who would have been nothing 
without me, who exists by me, and is known through me alone, who Avrites 
this ! It is impossible to desert the cause of misfortune with more unfeeling 
brutality, and to run with more unblushing baseness to hail a new destiny. 

" From that moment ]\Iadam* refused to have any farther intimacy with 
either Murat or liis wife. To all their entreaties she invariably answered 
that she held traitors and treachery in abhorrence. As soon as she was at 
Rome, after tlie disasters of 1814, Murat hastened to send her ei-o-ht mao-nifi- 
cent horses out of his own stables at Naples, but Madam would not accept 
them. She resisted in like manner every effort of her daughter Caroline, 
who constantly repeated that, after all, the fault was not hers ; that she had 
no share in it ; that she could not command her husband. But Madam an- 
swered, like Clytemnestra, 

•" 'If you could not command him, you ought, at least, to have opposed 
him. But what struggles have you made ? what blood lias flown ? At the 
expense of your own life you ought to have defended your own brother, your 
benefactor, your master, against the sanguinary attemjDts of your husband.' 

"On my return from Elba," continued the Emperor, "Murat's head was 
turned on hearing that I had landed in France. The first intelligence he re- 
ceived of this event informed him that I was at Lyons. He was accus- 
tomed to my great returns of fortune ; he had, more than once, seen me 
placed in most extraordinary circumstances. On this occasion he thought 
me already master of all Europe, and determined to wrest Italy from me ; for 
that was his object, the aim of all his hopes. It was in vain that some men 
of the greatest influence among tlie nations which he attempted to excite to 
rebellion threw themselves at his feet, and assured him that he was mistaken : 
that the Italians had a king on whom alone they had bestowed their love 
and their esteem. Nothing could stop liim. He lost himself, and contrib- 

* Napoleon's mother. 



1816, July.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 3()j 

uted to lose us a second time ; for Austria, supposing that he was acting at 

my instigation, would not 
believe my professions, 
and mistrusted me. Mu- 
rat's unfortunate end cor- 
responds with . his con- 
duct. He was endowed 
with extraordinary cour- 
age and but little intelli- 
gence ; the too great dis- 
proportion between these 
two qualifications ex- 
plains the man entirely. 
It was difficult, even im- 
possible, to be more cour- 
ageous than Murat and 
Lannes ; but Murat had 
remained courageous, and 
nothing more. The mind 
of Lannes, on the con- 
trary, had risen to a level 
with his courage — he had 
become a giant. Howev- 
er, the execution of Mu- 
rat is nevertheless terri- 
ble ; it is an event in the history of the morals of Europe — an infraction of 
the rules of public decorum : a king has caused another king, acknowledged 
by aU the others, to be shot. What a spell he has broken I" 




PORTRAIT OF MURAT. 



CHAPTER XX. 

1816, July. Continued. 

•f he Works of Cherbourg — Designs of the Emperor — Audience given to the Governor — Faubourg 
St. Germain — Aristocracy — -Democracy — The Emperor's Intention to marry a French woman — 
Difficulties in reforming Society — Etiquette at Longwood. 

July 15. About ten o'clock in the morning, the Emperor knocked at the 
door of Las Casas's apartment, and invited him to take a walk. They di- 
rected their steps toward some gum-woOd trees, where the Emperor had or- 
dered the calash to be in waiting. Upon their return, the Emperor retired 
to his room and spent the day alone, breakfasting and dining in his chamber. 

After dinner he sent for Las Casas again. The Emperor had been read- 
ing journals of the past all day. Conversation turned upon the immense 
marine works which he had commenced at Cherbourg. The plan of con- 
structing an artificial harbor there had been conceived during the reign of 
Louis XVI., and he had visited Cherbourg with some French engineers. 



302 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XX. 

Cherbourg is situated on the French coast, at the bottom of a bay formed by 
the Isle Pelee on the right, and the point Querqueville on the left. It is op- 
posite Portsmouth, and about sixty miles from that celebrated naval depot 
of England. For a long distance the two coasts of France and England here 
run parallel to each other. 

"Nature," said Napoleon, "has done every thing for our rivals, nothing 
for us. Their shores arc safe and free from obstruction. They abound in 
good soundings, in the means of shelter, in harbors, and excellent ports. 
Ours are, on the contrary, fiUed with rocks, their water is shallow, and they 
are every day choking up. We have not, in these parts, a single real port 
of large dimensions, and it might be said that the English arc, at the same 
moment, both at home and on our coast, since it is not necessary for their 
squadrons, at anchor in Portsmouth, to put to sea to molest us. A few light 
vessels are sufficient to convey intelligence of our movements, and in an in- 
stant, without trouble or danger, they are enabled to seize upon their prey. 

" If, on the contrary, our squadrons are daring enough to appear in the 
British Channel, which ought, in reality, to be called the French Sea only, 
they are exposed to perpetual danger. Their total destruction may be etfect- 
ed by the hurricanes or the enemy's superiority, because in both these cases 
there is no shelter for them. This is what happened at the famous battle of 
La Hoyne, where Tourville might have been enabled to unite the glory of a 
skillful retreat with that of a hard-fought and so unequal a contest, had there 
been a port for him to take shelter in. 

" In that state of things, men of great sagacity, and attached to the good 
of their country, prevailed upon government, by dint of projects and memo- 
rials, to seek, by the assistance of art, for those resources of which we had 
been deprived by nature. After a great deal of hesitation, the Bay of Cher- 
bourg was selected, and was to be suited to the design by means of an im- 
mense dike projecting into the sea. In that way we were to acquire, even 
close to the enemy, an artificial road, whence our ships might be enabled, in 
all times and weather, to attack his, and where they might escape from their 
pursuit. 

" It was," said the Emperor, " a magnificent and glorious undertaking, 
very difficult with respect to the execution and to the finances of that period. 
The dike was to be formed by immense cones, constructed empty in the port, 
and towed afterward to the spot, where they were sunk by the weight of the 
stones with which they were filled. There certainly was great ingenuity in 
the invention. Louis XVI. honored these operations with his presence. His 
departure from Versailles was a great event. In those times a king never 
left his residence ; his excursions did not extend beyond the limits of a hunt- 
ing party ; they did not hurry about as at present ; and I really believe that 
I contributed not a little to the rapidity of their movements. 

" However, as it was absolutely necessary that things should be impressed 
with the character of the age, the eternal rivalry between the land and sea, 
that question which can never be decided, continued to be carried on. It 
might be said, in that respect, that there were two kings in France, or that 



1816, July.] ' RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 303 

he who reigned had two interests, and ought to have two wills, which proved 
rather that he had none at all. Here the sea was the only subject for consid- 
eration, yet the question was decided in favor of the land, not by superiority 
of argument, but by priority of right. Where the fate of the Empire was 
at stake, a point of precedence was substituted, and thus the grand object, 
the magnificent enterprise, failed of success. The land party established it- 
self at the Isle Pelee and at Fort Querqueville. It was employed there mere- 
ly to lend an auxiliary hand to the construction of the dike, which was itself 
the chief object ; but, instead of that, it began by establishing its own pre- 
dominance, and afterward compelled the dike to become the instrument of its 
convenience, and subservient to its plans and discretion. What was the re- 
sult ? The harbor which was forming, and which ought to contain the mass 
of our navy, whether designed to strike at the heart of the enemy's power, or 
to take occasional shelter, could only accommodate fifteen sail, at most, while 
we wanted anchorage for more than a hundred, which might have been ef- 
fected without more labor and with little more expense, had the work been 
carried more forward into the sea, merely beyond the limits which the land 
party had appropriated to itself. 

"Another blunder, highly characteristic and scarcely conceivable, took 
place : all the principal measures for completing the harbor were fixed upon ; 
the dike commenced ; one of the channels, that to the eastward, finished, and 
the other, to the westward, on the point of being formed, without an exact and 
precise knowledge of all the soundings. This oversight was so great, that 
the channel already formed, that to the eastward, five hundred fathoms broad, 
having been extended too closely to the fort, did not, without Inconvenience, 
admit of vessels at low water, and that the other, which was about to be con- 
structed to the westward, would have been impracticable, or, at least, very 
dangerous, but for the individual zeal of one officer, M. de Chavagnac, who 
made that important discovery in time, and caused the works on the left ex- 
tremity of the dike to be stopped at the distance of twelve hundred fathoms 
from Querqueville Fort, by which it was to be defended. This seems to me, 
and is in fact, too great a distance. 

" The system adopted in the works of the dike, wliich is more than a league 
from the shore, and more than nineteen hundred fathoms long by ninety feet 
broad, was also liable to numerous changes, suggested, however, by experi- 
ence. The cones, which, according to the established principle, ought to have 
touched each other in their bases, were separated in that respect, either by 
accident or with a view of economy. They were damaged by storms, eaten 
by worms, or they rotted with age. They were at length altogether neg- 
lected with the exception of stones thrown at random into the sea, and when 
it was observed that these were scattered by the roUing of the waves, recourse 
was had to enormous blocks, which finally answered every expectation. 

" The works were continued without interruption under Louis XVI. An 
increased degree of activity was imparted to them by our legislative assem- 
blies, but, in consequence of the commotions which soon followed, they were 
completely abandoned, and at the time of the Consulate there was not a 



304 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XX. 

trace of that fiimous dike to Le seen. Every tluuii' bad been destroyed for 
several feet n,nder low-water level by the original iuipertection of the plan, by 
the length of time, and the violence of the waves. The moment, however, I 
took the helm of aifairs, one of my iirst employments was to turn my atten- 
tion to so important a point. I ordered commissions of inquiry. I had the 
subject discussed in my presence. I made myself acquainted Avith the local 
circumstances, and I decided that the dike should be run up Avith all possible 
means and expedition, and that two solid fortilications .should, in the course 
of time, be constructed at the two extremities, but measures should be imme- 
diately taken for the estabHshment of a considerable provisional battery. 1 
had then to encounter, on all sides, the inconveniences, the objections, the 
particular views, and the fondness Avhich attaches itself to individual opin- 
ions. Several maintained that the thins; could not be done. I continued 
steady ; I insisted, I connnanded, and the thing Avas done. 

" In less than tAvo years a real island Avas seen to rise, as it were by mao;ic, 
from the sea, on AA^hich was erected a battery of large calibre. Until that 
moment our labors had almost constantly been the sport of the English. 
They had, they said, been couA-inced, from their origin, that they Avould be 
fruitless. They had foretold that the cones Avould destroy themselves ; that 
the small stones Avould be SAvept aAvay by the Avaves ; and, above all, they re- 
lied upon our lassitude and inconstancy. But here things Avere completely 
altered, and they made a sIioaa^ of molesting our operations. They Avere, 
howcA-er, too late. I Avas already pi-epared for them. The western channel 
naturally continued A'ery Avide, and the tAvo extreme fortifications, Avhich de- 
fended each its p)eculiar passage, being incapable of maintaining a cross tire, 
it was probable that an enterprising enemy might be enabled to force the 
Avestern channel, come to anchor Avithin the dike, and there rencAv the defeat 
of Aboukii". But I had already guarded against this Avith my central pro- 
visional battery. HoAVCA-er, as I am for permanent establishments, I ordered 
Avithm the dike, in the centre, by Avay of support, and aa'IucIi, in its turn, 
might serve as an euA-elope, an enormous elliptical pier to be consti'ueted, 
commanding the central battery, and mounted itself in two easemated tiers, 
bomb-proof, Avith fifty pieces of large calibre, and tAventy mortars of an ex- 
tensiAc range, as aa'cII as baiTacks, poAvder magazine, and cisterns. I liaA'e 
the satisfaction of having left this noble Avork in a finished state. 

" IlaA'ing proA'ided for the defensive, my only business Avas to prepare of- 
fensive measures, Avhich consisted in the means of collecting the mass of our 
fleets at Cherbourg. The harbor, however, could contain but fifteen sail. 
For the purpose of increasing the number, I caused a iioaa' port to be dug. 
The Romans ncA'cr undertook a more important, a more difficult task, or one 
Avhich promised a more lasting duration. It was sunk into the granite to the 
depth of fifty feet, and I caused the opening of it to be celebrated by the 
presence of ]Maria Louisa, while I myself Avas on the fields of battle in Sax- 
ony. By this means I procured anchorage for tAventy-five sail more. Still, 
that number was not sufficient, and I therefore relied upon very different 
means of augmenting my naval strength. I Avas resolved to reneAV the Avon- 



1816, July.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 305 

ders of Egypt at Cherbourg. I had already erected my pyramid in the sea. 
I would have also had my Lake Moeris. My great object was to be enabled 
to concentrate all our maritime force, and in time it would have been im- 
mense, and adequate to strike a fatal blow against the enemy. 

" I was preparing my scene of action in such a way that the two nations, 
in their totality, might have been enabled to grapple with each other man to 
man, and the issue could not be doubtful, for we should have been more than 
forty millions of French against fifteen of EngHsh. I should have wound 
up the war with a battle of Actium ; and, afterward, what did I want of En- 
gland ? Her destruction ? Certainly not. I merely wanted the end of an 
intolerable usurpation, the enjoyment of imprescriptible and sacred rights, the 
deliverance, the liberty of the seas, the independence, the honor of flags. I 
was speaking in the name of all and for all, and I should have succeeded by 
concession or by force. I had on my side power, indisputable right, and the 
wishes of nations." 

July 16. The Emperor rode out in the morning, in the calash, with Las 
Casas and Dr. O'Meara. On his return, he invited them to breakfast with 
him in the garden. He conversed at great length on the endless vexations 
of the governor. O'Meara remarked that ]\Iadam Sturmer, the wife of one 
of the commissioners, was very desirous of seeing the Emperor, but that the 
commissioners believed that he would not receive them. 

"Who told them so?" inquired the Emperor. "I am willing to receive 
them whenever they ask through General Bertrand. I shall receive them as 
private characters. I never refuse to see any person when asked in a proper 
way, and especially I should be always happy to see a lady. 

"It appears that your ministers," he continued, "have sent out a great 
many articles of dress for us, and other things which it was supposed might 
be wanted. ISTow, if this governor were possessed of the feelings of a gen- 
tleman, he would have sent a list of them to Bertrand, stating that the En- 
glish govei-nment had sent a supply of certain articles, which it was thought 
we might want, and that, if we stood in need of them, we might order such 
as we pleased ; but instead of acting in the manner pointed out by the rules 
of politeness, this jailer converts into an insult what probably your govern- 
ment intended as a civility. He selects such things as he himself pleases, 
and sends them up in a contemptuous manner, without consulting us, as if he 
were sending alms to a set of beggars, or clothing to convicts. Tnily he has 
the heart of an executioner; for no one but an executioner would unnecessa- 
rily increase the miseries of people situated like us, already too unhappy. 
His hands soil every thing that passes through them." 

About two o'clock a message was brought to the Emperor to ascertain 
whether he was willing to receive the governor. The Emperor admitted him 
to a long audience, and afterward gave to Las Casas the following account 
of the interview : 

"I ran over," said the Emperor, "without falling into a passion, all the 
objects under discussion. I recapitulated all our grievances, enumerated aU 
our wrongs, addressed myself by turns to his understanding, his imagination, 

U 



306 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XX. 

his feelings, and his heart. I put it in his power to repair all the mischief 
he had done, to recommence upon a plan altogether new; but in vain, for 
that man is without fibres ; nothing is to be expected of him." 

The governor assured the Emperor that, when the arrest of M. de Mon- 
tholon's servant took place, he did not know he was in our service, and he 
added that he had not read Madam Bertrand's sealed letter. 

"Your letter to Count Bertrand,'' replied the Emperor, "is altogether re- 
pugnant to our manners and in direct opposition to our prepossessions. If 
I were but a simple general and private individual, and had received such a 
letter from you, I would have called you out. A man so well known and 
respected in Europe as the grand marshal is not to be insulted under the 
penalty of social reprobation. You do not take a correct view of your situ- 
ation with regard to us. All your actions here come within the province of 
history, and even the conversation which passes at this moment belongs to 
history. You injure every day by your conduct your own government and 
your own nation, and in time you may feel the consequences of it. Your 
government will disclaim your conduct in the end, and a stain will attach it- 
self to your name which will disgrace your children. Will you allow me to 
tell you what we think of you ? We think you capable of every thing — yes^ 
of every thing ; and while you retain your hatred, we shall retain our opinion. 
I shall still wait for some time, because I like to act upon certainties ; and I 
shall then have to complain, not that the worst proceeding of the ministers 
was to send me to St. Helena, but that they gave you the command of it. 
You are a greater calamity to us than all the wretchedness of this horrible 
rock. 

" With respect to the commissioners of the allied powers, whom the gov- 
ernor wished to present to me, I informed him that I rejected them in their 
official capacity, but that I would readily receive them as private individuals. 
I assured him that I had no dislike to any one of them, not even to the 
French commissioner, M. Montchenu, who might be a A^ery worthy man, who 
had been my subject for ten years, and who, having been an emigrant, was 
probably indebted to me for the happiness of returning to France ; that, be- 
sides, after all, he was a Frenchman ; that that title was indelible in my eyes, 
and that there was no opinion Avhich could destroy it in my estimation. 

" With regard to the new buildings at Longwood, which were the great 
object of the governor's visit, I replied that I did not wish for them ; that I 
preferred my present inconvenient residence to a better one situated at a great 
distance, and at the expense of a great deal of noise and the trouble of mov- 
ing ; that the buildings which he liad just mentioned to me Avould require 
years to be completed, and that before that time either we should not be 
worth the cost incurred for our maintenance, or Providence would deliver 
him from us." 

July 17. Napoleon walked in the garden with Dr. O'Meara. He spoke 
of the new house which the English government had sent out, and said, 

" If I expected to remain long in St, Helena, I should wish to have it 
erected at the Plantation House side ; but I am of opinion that, as soon as 



1816, July.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 307 

the affairs of France are settled, and things remain quiet, the English gov- 
ernment wiU allow me to return to Europe, and finish my days in England. 
I do not believe that they are foolish enough to be at the expense of eight 
millions annually to keep me here when I am no longer to be feared. I am, 
therefore, not very anxious about the house. 

"As to escape, even if we were inclined to try it, there are ninety-eight 
chances out of a hundred against one succeeding. Notwithstanding which, 
this jailer imposes as many restrictions as if I had nothing more to do than 
to step into a boat and be off. It is true, that while one lives there is al- 
ways a chance. Although chained, inclosed in a cell, and every human pre- 
caution taken, there is still a chance of escape, and the only effectual way to 
prevent it is to put me to death. It is only the dead who never come back. 
Then all uneasiness on the part of the European powers and Lord Castle- 
reagh will cease. No more expense, no more squadrons to watch me, or 
poor soldiers fatigued to death with pickets and guards, or harassed carrying 
loads up those rocks." 

July 18. The Emperor was very unwell, and spent three hours in the 
bath. He read two volumes while in the bath. About four o'clock he sent 
for Las Casas. Gradually the Emperor became animated in conversation, 
and in reply to some amusing anecdotes related by Las Casas respecting the 
Faubourg St. Germain, the abode of the ancient nobility, to which class Las 
Casas belonged, he said, 

" I see plainly that my plan with respect to your Faubourg St. Germain 
was ill managed. I did too much or too little. I did enough to dissatisfy 
the opposite party, and not enough to connect the other with me altogether. 
Although some of them were fond of money, the multitude would have been 
content with the rattles and sound, with which I could have satiated them, 
without any injury, in the main, to our new principles. My dear Las Casas, 
I did too much and not enough, and yet I was earnestly occupied with the 
business. Unfortunately, I was the only one seriously engaged in the un- 
dertaking. All who were about me thwarted instead of promoting it, and 
yet there were but two grand measures to be taken with regard to you — that 
of annihilating, or that of melting you down in the great mass of societyi 
The former could not enter my head, and the latter was not an easy task, 
but I did not consider it beyond my strength ; and, in fact, although I had 
no support, and was even counteracted in my views, I nearly realized them 
at length. Had I remained, the thing would have been accomplished. 

" This will appear astonishing to him who knows how to appreciate the 
heart of man and the state of society. I do not think that history can fur- 
nish any case of a similar kind, or that so important a result, obtained in so 
short a space of time, can be found. I should have carried that fusion into 
effect, and cemented that union by every sacrifice. It would have rendered 
us invincible. The opposite conduct has ruined us, and may for a long time 
protract the misfortunes, perhaps the last gasps of unhappy France. I once 
more repeat that I did too much or too little. I ought to have attached the 
emigrants to me upon their return. I might have easily become an object 



308 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XX. 

of adoration with the aristocracy. An establisliment of that nature was nec- 
essary for me. It is the real, the only support of monarchy, its guide, its 
lever, its point of resistance. Without it, the state is but a vessel Avithout a 
rudder, a real balloon in the air. But the essence of aristocracy, its talis- 
manic charm, consists in antiquity, in age, and these were the only things I 
could not create. The intermediate means were wanting. M. de Breteuil, 
who had insinuated liimsclf into my favor, encouraged me. On the contrary, 
M. de Talleyrand, who certainly was not a fovorite with the emigTants, dis- 
couraged me by every possible means. Reasonable democracy contents it- 
self with securing equality for all, to seek and to obtain. The real line of 
conduct would have been to employ the remains of aristocracy together Avith 
the forms and design of democracy. Above all, it was necessary to collect 
the ancient names, those celebrated in our history. This is the only mode 
of srivino; an instantaneous air of old ac-c to tlie most modern institutions. 

♦' I entertained upon that subject ideas which were altogether peculiar to 
myself. Had any difficulties been started by Austria and Russia, I would 
have married a French Avoman. I Avould haA'c selected one of the most il- 
lustrious names of the monarchy. That Avas ever my original thought, my 
real inclination. ]\Iy ministers Averc unable to prevent me but by their ear- 
nest appeals to political vicAvs. Had I been surrounded by the Montmorcn- 
cies, the Nesles, and the Clissons, I should, by adopting their daughters, haA^c 
united them Avith foreign sovereigns. My pride and my delight Avould have 
been to extend these noble French stocks, had they taken part Avith, or given 
themselves up to us altogether. They, and those belonging to me, thought 
that I Avas influenced by piTJudice alone, Av^hen I AA^as acting in conformity 
with the most profound combinations. Be that as it Avill, your friends haA^e 
lost more in me than they are aAvare of. They are destitute of soul, of the 
feeling of true glory. By what unhappy propensity have they preferred Aval- 
lowing in the mire of the Allies to the noble task of folloAving me to the top 
of Mount Simplon, and from its summit commanding the respect and admi- 
ration of the rest of Europe ! Senseless men ! 

" I had, hoAvcA'cr, a project in my portfolio AA'hich Avould liaA'c rallied 
around me a great number of that description of persons, and Avhich Avould 
have been but just. Time alone Avas Avanting to mature it. It Avas, that 
every descendant of ancient marshals or ministers should be considered at 
all times capable of getting himself declared a duke by presenting the requi- 
site endowment. All the sons of generals and governors of proA'inces Avere 
to be qualified to assume the title of count upon the same principle, and so 
on in gi'adation. This Avould have advanced some, raised the hopes of oth- 
ers, excited the emulation of all, and hurt the pride of none ; grand but al- 
together harmless rattles, and belonging, besides, to my system and my com- 
binations. 

" Old and corrupt are not goA-enied like ancient and virtuous nations. 
For one individual at present who would sacrifice himself for the public 
good, there are thousands and millions who are insensible to every thing but 
their OAvn interests, enjoyments, and vanity. To pretend to regenerate a 



1816, July.] . RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 309 

people in an instant, or as if one were traveling fast, would be an act of mad- 
ness. The genius of the workman ought to consist in knowing how to em- 
ploy the materials he has at hand, and that is one of the causes of the re- 
sumption of all the monarchical forais, of the re-establishment of titles, of 
classes, and of the insignia of orders. The secret of the legislator should 
consist in knowing how to derive advantage even from the caprice and irreg- 
ularities of those whom he pretends to rule. And, after every consideration, 
all these gewgaws were attended with few inconveniences, and not destitute 
of some benefits. At the point of civilization to which we have now attained, 
they are calculated to attract the respect of multitudes, provided, always, that 
the person decorated with them preserves respect for himself. They may 
satisfy the vanity of the weak without alarming strong and powerful minds 
in the slightest degree." 

It was now a late hour of the night, and the Emperor said to Las Casas, 
in parting, "There is another pleasant evening spent.'' 

July 19. Under this date Las Casas speaks of the etiquette observed by 
the French gentlemen in their intercourse with the Emperor. 

" The Emperor behaved to us in the kindest manner, and with a paternal 
familiarity. We were, on our part, the most attentive and respectful of 
courtiers ; we uniformly endeavored to anticipate his wishes ; we carefully 
watched all his wants, and he had scarcely time to make a sign with his 
hand before we were in motion. 

"None of us entered his apartment without being sent for, and if any 
thing of importance was to be communicated to him, he was previously made 
acquainted with it. If he walked separately with any of us, no other pre- 
sumed to intrude. In the beginning we constantly remained uncovered near 
his person, which appeared strange to the English, who had been ordered to 
put on their hats after the first salute. This contrast appeared so ridiculous 
to the Emperor that he commanded us, once for all, to behave like them. No- 
body, except the two ladies, took a seat in his presence, unless desired to do 
so. He was never spoken to but at his own summons, and when the conver- 
sation became general, which was always and in all cases under his control 
and guidance. Such was the etiquette of Longwood, which entirely was, as 
it must be evident, that of our recollections and feelings." 



310 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. , [ClIAP. XXI. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

181G, July. Continued. 

Establishments for Mendicity — Illyria — Prisoners of State — Freedom of the French People — Egypt 
— The Desert — Anecdotes — Paternal Advice — Remarkable Conversations — Oagliostro, Mesmcr, 
Gall, Lavater, Madam de Balbi — Conversation with the Admiral — Commissioners — Santini — 
Nuns — Convents — Monks — The French Clergy. 

July 20. The Emperor was reading an English work on the poor-rate, 
the immense sums raised, and the vast number of individuals maintained at 
the expense of the parishes. He was amazed at the development of poverty 
and misery, and was apprehensive that he could not have read the work cor- 
rectly. 

" The thing," said he, " seems altogether impossible. I can not conceive 
by what vices and defects so many poor could be found in a country so op- 
ulent, so industrious, and so abundant in resources for labor as England. 
I am still less capable of comprehending by what prodigy the proprietors, 
overloaded Avith a horrible ordinary and extraordinary taxation, are also en- 
abled to provide for the wants of stich a multitude. But we have nothing 
in France to be compared to it in the proportion of a hundredth or a thou- 
sandth degree. Have you not told me," said he to Las Casas, " that I sent 
you into the departments on a particular mission with regard to mendicity? 
Let us see, what is the number of our beggars ? What did they cost ? How 
many poor-houses did I establish? What was the number they held? 
What eflect had they in removing mendicity ?" 

Las Casas replied, "It is impossible for me to enter into con-ect state- 
ments from mere recollection. I have, however, the official report itsell" 
among the few papers which I have preserved." 

"Go instantly and look for it," said the Emperor. "Things are not prof- 
itable unless seasonably applied, and I shall soon run over it with my th wmb, 
as Abbe de Pradt ingeniously said, although, to deal candidly with yoit, I 
am not, at present, over-desirous to devote my attention to such objects. 
They put me in mind of mustard after dinner. 

" Well," said he, after looking at the report for a few minutes, " this has 
no resemblance whatever to England. Our organization, however, had fail- 
ed. I suspected as much, and it was on that account I intrusted you with 
the mission. Your report would have been in perfect conformity with my 
views. You took up the consideration ingenuously, and like an honest man, 
without the fear of exciting the displeasure of the minister by depriving him 
of a great many appointments. I am pleased with a great number of your 
details. Why did not you come and converse with me about them your- 
self? You would have satisfied me, and I should have known how to value 
your services." 



1816, July.] RESIDExNCE AT LONGWOOD. 311 

" Sire," said Las Casas, "as things were then situated, it would have been 
impossible for me. We were then involved in the confusion and embarrass- 
ment caused by our misfortunes." 

" Your observation is perfectly correct," replied the Emperor. " You es- 
tablish an unquestionable position. In the flourishing state to which I had 
raised the empire, no hands could any where be found destitute of employ- 
ment. It was laziness and vice alone that could produce mendicants. You 
think that their complete armihilation was possible. I think so too. I am 
confident of it. 

" Your levy in mass, to construct a vast single prison in each department, 
was equally adapted to the tranquillity of society and the well-being of those 
confined in it. Your idea of constructing monuments to last for centuries 
would have attracted my attention. That gigantic undertaking, its utility, 
its importance, the permanence of its results, all these points belonged to my 
system. AVith respect to your university for the people, I am very appre- 
hensive that it would have been but a beautiful chimera of philanthropy, 
worthy of the unsophisticated Abbe de Saint Pierre. There is, however, 
some merit in the aggregate of those conceptions, but an energy of character, 
and an unbending perseverance, for which we are not generally distinguished, 
would be requisite to produce any good result. 

" As for the rest, I every day coUect ideas from you in this place of which 
I did not imagine you capable ; but it was not at aU my fault. You were 
near me ; why did you not open your mind to me ? I did not possess the 
gift of divination. Had you been minister, those ideas, however fantastical 
they might have at first appeared to me, would not have been the less attend- 
ed to, because there is, in my opinion, no conception altogether unsusceptible 
of some positive good ; and a wrong notion, when properly controlled and reg- 
ulated, often leads to a right conclusion. I should have handed you over to 
commissioners who would have analyzed your plans. You would have de- 
fended them by your arguments, and after a thorough knowledge of the sub- 
ject, I alone should have finally decided according to my own judgment. 
Such was my way of acting and my intention. I gave an impulse to indus- 
try. I put it into a state of complete activity throughout Europe. I was 
desirous of doing as much for all the faculties of the mind, but time was 
not allowed me. I could not bring my plans to maturity in full gallop, and, 
unfortunately, I but too often wasted them upon a sandy foundation, and 
consigned them to unproductive hands. But what were the other missions 
with which I intrusted you ? Have you the reports ?" 

" Yes, sire," replied Las Casas ; " one was in Holland, another in lUyria." 

"Get the reports," said the Emperor; "but never mind; come back; 
spare me the trouble of reading such matters ! They are henceforth, in real- 
ity, altogether useless. In obtaining possession of Illyria, it was never my 
intention to retain it. I never entertained the idea of destroying Austria. 
Her existence was, on the contrary, indispensably requisite for the execution 
of my plans. But Illyria was, in our hands, a vanguard to the heart of Aus- 
tria, calculated to keep a check upon her, a sentinel at the gates of Vienna, to 



312 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXI. 

keep her steady to our interests. Besides, I was desirous of introducing and 
establishing in that country our doctrines, our system of government, and 
our codes. It was an additional step to the regeneration of Europe. I had 
merely taken it as a pledge, and intended to exchange it for Gallicia at the 
restoration of Poland, which I hurried on against my own opinion. I had, 
however, more than one project with regard to Illyria, for I frequently fluc- 
tuated in my designs, and had few ideas that were fixed on solid grounds. 
This arose rather from adapting myself to circumstances than from giving an 
impulse and direction to them, and I was every instant compelled to shift 
about. The consequence was, that for the greater part of the time I came 
to no absolute decision, and was occupied merely with projects. My pre- 
dominant idea, particularly after my marriage, was to give Illyria up to Aus- 
tria as an indemnity for Gallicia on the re-establishment of Poland, at what- 
ever cost, as a separate kingdom. Not that I cared upon whose head, wheth- 
er on that of a friend, an enemy, or an ally, the crown was placed, provided 
the thing was effected. It was all the same to me. I have, my dear Las 
Casas, formed vast and numerous projects, all unquestionably for the ad- 
vancement of reason and the welfare of the human race. I Avas dreaded as 
a thunderbolt. I was charged with having a hand of iron ; but, the moment 
that hand had struck the last blow, every thing would have been softened 
down for the happiness of all. How many millions would have poured their 
benedictions on me, both then and in future times ! 

" But how numerous, it must be confessed, the fatal misfortunes which 
were accumulated and combined to effect my overthrow at the end of my ca- 
reer ! My unhajipy marriage, the perfidies which resulted from it ; that vil- 
lainous affair of Spain, from which I could not disengage myself; that fatal 
war with Russia, which occurred through a misunderstanding ; that horrible 
rigor of the elements, which devoured a whole army, and then the whole uni- 
verse against me ! Is it not wonderful that I was still able to make so long 
a resistance, and that I was more than once on the point of surmounting 
every danger, and emerging from that chaos more powerful than ever ? Oh, 
destiny of man ! What is human wisdom, human foresight ! " 

"It is an observation," said Las Casas, "which made an immediate and 
striking impression upon me during my mission in those countries, that, all 
other things fairly averaged, mendicity is much more rare in those parts 
which are poor and barren, and much more common in those which are fruit- 
fiil and abundant. It is also infinitely more difficult to effect its destruction 
in places where the clergy have superior wealth and power. In Belgium, for 
instance, mendicants were seen to derive honor from their trade, and boast of 
having followed it for several generations. These claims belonged peculiarly 
to them, and that country was accordingly the rendezvous of mendicity." 

"But I am not surprised at it," resumed the Emperor. "The difficulty 
of this important consideration consists entirely in discriminating accurately 
between the poor man who commands our respect and the meyidicant who 
ought to excite our indignation. Besides, our religious oddities confound 
these two classes so completely that they seem to make a merit, a kind of 



1816, July.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 313 

virtue, of mendicity, and to encourage it by the promise of heavenly rewards. 
The mendicants are, in reality, neither more nor less than monks au petit 
pied ; and that such is the fact is evident from the mendicant monks being 
so classed in the vocabulary. How was it possible for such ideas not to 
produce confusion in the mind and disorder in society ? A gTeat number of 
saints have been canonized whose only apparent merit was mendicity. They 
seem to have been transplanted to heaven for that which, considered as a 
matter of sound police, ought to have subjected them to castigation and con- 
finement in this world. This would not, however, have prevented them from 
being worthy of heaven. But go on." 

"What struck me also," said Las Casas, "very forcibly in La Vendee 
and the adjacent country was, that insanity had increased there perhaps ten- 
fold more than in any other part of the empire, and that individuals were de- 
tained in the mendicity establishments and other places of confinement who 
were treated as vagabonds, or likely to become so, and who, having been, 
taken up in their childhood, had no knowledge of their parents or origin. 
Some of them had wounds on their persons, but were ignorant how they had 
been inflicted. They were marks which had, no doubt, been inflicted upon 
them in their infancy. The opportunity of employing these individuals, who 
had not acquired a single social idea, has been suffered to pass by ; they are 
now unfit for any purpose." 

"Ah!" exclaimed the Emperor, "this is civil war and its hideous train, 
its inevitable consequences and its certain fruits ! If some leaders make for- 
tunes and extricate themselves from danger, the dregs of the population are 
always trodden under foot, and become the victims of every calamity ! In 
order to proceed regularly in your mission, it was incumbent upon you to as- 
certain, in the first place, whether your information was well gTounded, and 
to hear the evidence against the persons accused. And, then, it must be 
frankly admitted that abuses are inherent in every human establishment. 
You see that almost every thing of which you complained was committed by 
the very persons who were expressly intrusted with the means of prevention. 
Can a remedy be provided when it is impossible to see what passes every 
where ? There is something like a kind of net-work, which, extended on flat 
grounds, envelops the lower classes. A mesh must be broken, and discover- 
ed by a fortunate observer like you, before any thing of the matter is known 
in the upper regions. Accordingly, one of my dreams would have been, 
when the grand events of war were completely terminated, and I returned to 
the interior in tranquillity and at ease, to look out for half a dozen or a dozen 
of real good philanthropists — of those worthy men who live but to do good. 
I should have distributed them through the empire, which they would have 
secretly inspected for the purpose of making their report to me. They would 
have been the spies of virtue ! They would have addressed themselves di- 
rectly to me, and would have been my confessors, my spiritual directors, and 
my decisions with them would have been my good works in secret. My 
grand occupation, when at full leisure and at the height of my power, would 
have been the amelioration of every class of society. 



314 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXI. 

" I should Lave descended to the details of individual comfort, and, had I 
found no motive for that conduct in my natural disposition, I should have 
been actuated by the spirit of calculation ; for, after the acquisition of so much 
glory, what other means would have been left to me to make any addition to 
it ? It was because I was well aware that that swarm of abuses necessarily 
existed, because I wished for the preservation of my subjects, and was de- 
sirous of throwing every impediment in the way of subordinate and interme- 
diate tyranny, that I conceived my system of state prisons adapted to any 
crisis that might occur." 

" Yes, sire," replied Las Casas ; "but it was far from being well received 
in our saloons, and did not a little contribute to make you unpopular. An 
outcry was raised against the new bastiles, against the renewal of lettres de 
cachet.''^ 

" I know it very well," said the Emperor. " The outcry was echoed by all 
Europe, and rendered me odious. And yet observe how powerful the influ- 
-ence of words envenomed by perfidy! The whole of the discontent was 
principally occasioned by the preposterous title of my decree, which escaped 
me from distraction or some other cause ; for, in the main, I contend that the 
law itself was an eminent service, and rendered individual liberty more com- 
plete and certain in France than in any other country of Europe. Consider- 
ing the crisis from which we had emerged, the factions by which Ave had been 
divided, and the plots which had been laid and were still contriving, impris- 
onment became indispensable. It was, in fact, a benefit, for it superseded 
the scaffold. But I Avas desirous of sanctioning it by legal enactments, and 
of placing it beyond the reach of caprice, of arbitrary power, of hatred, and 
of vengeance. 

"Nobody, according to my law, could be imprisoned and detained as a 
prisoner of state without the decision of my privy council, which consisted 
of sixteen persons, the first, the most independent, and most distinguished 
characters of the state. What unworthy feeling would have dared to expose 
itself to the detection of such a tribunal ? Had I not voluntarily deprived 
myself of the power of consigning individuals to prison ? None could be de- 
tained beyond a year without a fresh decision of the privy council, and four* 
votes out of sixteen were sufficient to eftect his release. Two councilors of 
state were bound to attend to the statements of tlie prisoners, and became 
from that moment their zealous advocates with tlie privy council. These 
prisoners were also under the protection of the committee of individual liber- 
ty appointed by the Senate, which was the object of public derision merely 
because it made no parade of its labors and their results. Its services, how- 
ever, were great ; for it would argue a defective knowledge of mankind to sup- 
pose that senators, who had nothing to expect from ministers, and who were 
their equals in rank, would not make use of their prerogative to oppose and at- 
tack them whenever the importance of the case called for their interference. 
It must also be considered that I had assigned the superintendence of the pris- 
oners and the police of the prisons to tlie tribunals, Avhicli, from that instant, 
paralyzed the exercise of every kind of arbitrary authority belonging to the 



1816, July.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 315 

other branches of administration and their numerous subordinate agents. 
After such precautions, I do not hesitate to maintain that civil Hbertj was 
as effectuallj secured by that law in France as it possiblj could be. The 
public misconceived, or pretended to misconceive, that truth, for it is neces- 
sary for us Frenchmen to murmur at every thing and on every occasion. 

" The fact is, that, at the time of my downfall, the state prisons scarcely 
contained two hundred and fifty individuals, and I found nine thousand in 
them when I became consul. It will appear from the list of those who are 
imprisoned, and upon examination into the causes and motives of their con- 
finement, that almost every one of them deserved death, and would have been 
sentenced to it by regular process of law, and it consequently follows that 
their imprisonment was, on my part, a benefit conferred upon them. Why 
is there nothing published against me on this subject at present? Where 
are the serious grievances to be found with which I am reproached ? There 
are none in reality. If some of the prisoners afterward made a merit of 
their sufierings with the king on account of their exertions in his favor, did 
they not, by that proceeding, pronounce their own sentence and attest my 
justice ? For what may seem a virtuous action in the king's eye was incon- 
testably a crime under me ; and it was only because I was repugnant to the 
shedding of blood on account of political crimes, and because such trials 
would have but tended to the continuance of commotion and perplexity in the 
heart of the country, that I commuted the punishment to simple detention. 

^' I repeat it, the French were, at my era, the freest people of all Europe, 
without excepting even the English ; for in England, if any extreme dan- 
ger causes the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, every Individual may 
be sent to prison at the mere will of ministers who are not Called upon 
to justify their motives or give an explanation of their conduct. My law 
was very differently restricted. And then, at last, if, in spite of my good in- 
tention, and notwithstanding my utmost care, all that you have just said, and, 
no doubt, many other things, were well founded, it must not still be consid- 
ered so easy a task as it is thought to create a beneficial establishment for a 
nation. It is a remarkable circumstance that the countries which have been 
separated from us have regretted the loss of the laws with which I governed 
them. This is a homage paid to their superiority. The real, the only mode 
of passing sentence upon me with regard to their defects would be to show 
the existence, of a better code in any other country. New times are drawing 
near, it will be seen." 

July 21. The Emperor spent the morning dictating the campaign of 
Egypt. At three o'clock he took a walk with Las Casas to the bottom of 
the wood, where the calash was appointed to meet them to take them back. 
At dinner the Emperor was very animated in conversation. 

"The campaign of Egypt," said he, "wiU be as interesting as an episode 
of romance. The position which I occupied in the middle of Syria, with 
twelve thousand men only, was, it must be admitted, an audacious measure. 
I was at the distance of five hundred leagues from Desaix, who formed the 
other extremity of my army. It has been related by Sydney Smith that I 



31 G 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. XXI. 



lost eighteen tliouscand men before St. Jean d'Acre, although my army con- 
sisted but cf twelve thousand. Had I been master of the sea, I should have 
been master of the East ; and the thing was so practicable, that it failed only 
through the stupidity or bad conduct of some officers of the navy. 




THE MARCH THROUGH THE DESERT. 



" Volney, who traveled in Egypt before the Revolution, had stated his 
opinion that that country could not be occupied Avithout three great wars — 
against England, the Grand Seignior, and the inhabitants. The latter, in par- 
ticular, seemed difficult and terrible to him. He was altogether mistaken in 
that respect, for it gave us no trouble. We had even succeeded in making- 
friends of the inhabitants in the course of a short time, and in connecting their 
cause with ours. A handful of Frenchmen had then been sufficient to con- 
quer that fine country, which they ought never to have lost. We had actu- 
ally accomplished prodigies in war and in politics. Our undertaking was al- 
together different from the Crusades, for the Crusaders were innumerable, and 
hurried on by fanaticism. ]\Iy army, on the contrary, was very small, and 
the soldiers were so little inclined to the enterprise, that they were frequently 
tempted to carry off the colors and return. I had, however, succeeded in fa- 
miliarizing them with the country, which supplied every thing in abundance, 
and at so cheap a rate, that I was at one time on the point of placing them 
on half pay, for the purpose of laying by the other half for them. I had ac- 
quired such an ascendency over them, that I had it in my power, by a simple 
order of the day, to convert them to Mohammedanism. They would have 
treated it as a joke. The population would have been gratified, and the 
Christians of the East themselves would have considered themselves gainers, 



1816, July.] 



RESIDENCE AT LONG WOOD. 



317 



and approved of it, as thej knew that we could do nothing better for them 
and for ourselves. 

" The English were struck with consternation at seeing us in possession 
of Egypt. We exposed to Europe the certain means of wresting India from 
them. They have not yet dismissed their apprehensions, and they are in the 
right. If forty or fifty thousand European families ever succeed in estab- 
lishing their industry, laws, and government in Egypt, India will be more ef- 
fectually lost to the English by the commanding influence of circumstances 
than by the force of arms. 




KUINS OF EG VPT. 



"The desert," continued the Emperor, "always had a pecuHar influence 
on my feelings. I have never crossed it without being subject to a certain 
emotion. It seemed to me the image of immensity. It showed no bounda- 
ries, and had neither beginning nor end : it was an ocean on terra firma. 

"When I was in Syria," said the Emperor, "it was a settled opinion at 
Cairo that I never would be seen there again ; and I recollect the thieving 
and impudence of a little Chinese who was one of my servants. He was a 
little deformed dwarf whom Josephine once took a fancy to at Paris. He 
was the only Chinese in France, and was generally placed behind her car- 



318 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXI. 

riage. She took liim to Italy, but as he was in the constant habit of pilfer- 
ing, she wished to get rid of him. With that view, I put him on board my 
Egyptian expedition. Egypt was a lift to him half way on his journey. 
This little monster was intnisted with the care of my cellar ; but I had no 
sooner crossed the desert, than he sold, at a very low price, two thousand 
bottles of delicious claret. His only object was to make money, and he was 
convinced tliat I should never come back. He was not at all disconcerted 
at my return, but came eagerly to meet me, and acquainted me, like a faith- 
ful servant, as he said, with the loss of my wine. The robbery was so glar- 
ing that he was himself compelled to confess it. I was much urged to have 
him hanged, but I refused, because, in every sense of justice, I ought to have 
done as much to those in embroidered clothes who had knowingly bought 
and drank the wine. I contented myself with discharging him and sending 
him to Suez, where he was at liberty to do what he pleased." 

July 22. About ten o'clock the Emperor knocked at the door of Las Ca- 
sas's apartment, and took him out to walk. All the exiles breakfasted to- 
gether under some gnarled and almost verdureless gum-trees in the garden. 
It was a clear and brilliant day, and the heat was intense, but a gentle breeze 
swept over the cliffs, and all were in cheerful spirits. The Emperor looked 
around upon his devoted companions with paternal affection, and, alluding 
to some misunderstanding which had recently occurred between some of 
them, said, 

"You are bound, when you are one day restored to the world, to consider 
yourselves as brothers on my account. My memory will dictate this conduct 
to you. Be so, then, from this moment." 

" He next described to us," says Las Casas, " how we might be of mutual 
advantage to each other, and the sufferings we had it in our power to allevi- 
ate. It was all at once a family and a moral lesson, alike distinguished for 
excellent sentiment and practical rules of conduct. It ought to have been 
written in letters of gold. It lasted nearly an hour and a quarter, and will, 
I think, never be forgotten by any of us. For myself, not only the princi- 
ples and the words, but the tone, the expression, the action, and, above all, 
the entire affection with which he delivered them, wiU never be effaced from 
my mind." 

At the dinner-table conversation turned on dreams and presentiments. 
The Emperor, with his inexhaustible mental fertility, as usual, took the lead. 

" All these quackeries," said he, " and as many others, such as those of 
Cagliostro, Mesmer, Gall, and Lavater, are destroyed by this simple answer, 
^All that may exist, but it does not exist.'' 

" Man is fond of the marvelous. It has for him irresistible fascinations. 
He is ever ready to abandon that which is near at hand, to run after that 
which is fabricated for him. He voluntarily lends himself to his own delu- 
sions. The truth is, that every thing about us is a wonder. There is noth- 
ing which can be properly called a phenomenon. Every thing in nature is 
a phenomenon. The wood that is put in the fire-place, and warms me, is a 
phenomenon. That candle there, which gives me light, is a phenomenon. All 



1816, July.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 319 

the first causes, my understanding, my faculties, are phenomena, for they all 
exist, and we can not define them. I take leave of you here, and lo ! I am 
at Paris, entering my hox at the Opera. I bow to the audience, I hear the 
acclamations, I see the performers, I listen to the music ; hut if I can hound 
over the distance from St, Helena, why should I not hound over the distance 
of centuries ? Why should I not see the future as well as the past ? Why 
should the one he more extraordinary, more wonderful than the other ? The 
only reason is, that it does not exist. This is the argument which will al- 
ways annihilate, without the possibility of reply, all visionary wonders. AU 
these quacks deal in very ingenious speculations ; their reasoning may be 
just and seductive, but their conclusions are false, because they are unsup- 
ported by facts. 

"Mesmer and Mesmerism have never recovered from the blow dealt at 
them by Bailly's report in the name of the Academy of Sciences. Mesmer 
produced effects upon a person by magnetizing him before his face, yet the 
same person, magnetized behind without his knowing it, experienced no effect 
whatever. It was, therefore, on his part, an error of imagination, a debility 
of the senses. It was the act of the somnambule, who at night runs along 
the roof without danger, because he is not afraid, but who would break his 
neck in the day, because his senses would confound him. 

"I once attacked the quack Puysegur on his somnambvilism at one of my 
public audiences. He wished to assume a very lofty tone. I brought him 
dov/n to his proper level with only these words : ' If your doctrine is so in- 
structive, let it tell us something new. Mankind will, no doubt, make a 
very considerable progress in the next two hundred years : let it specify 
any single improvement which is to take place within that period ! Let it 
tell me what I shall do within the following week! Let it ascertain the 
numbers of the lottery which will be drawn to-morrow!' 

" I behaved in the same manner to Gall, and contributed very much to 
the discredit of his theory. Corvisart was his principal follower. He and 
all who resemble him have a great attachment to materialism, which is cal- 
culated to strengthen their theory and influence. But nature is not so bar- 
ren. Were she so clumsy as to make herself known by external forms, we 
should go to work more promptly, and acquire a greater degree of knowledge. 
Her secrets are more subtile, more delicate, more evanescent, and have hith- 
erto escaped the most miniite researches. We find a great genius in a little 
hunchback, and a man with a fine, commanding person turns out to be a 
stupid fellow. A big head with a large brain is sometimes destitute of a sin- 
gle idea, while a small brain is found to possess a vast u.nderstanding. And 
observe the imbecility of Gall ! He attributes to certain protuberances pro- 
pensities and crimes which are not inherent in nature, which arise solely from 
society and the compact of mankind. What becomes of the protuberance 
denoting thievery where there is no property to steal? of that indicating 
drunkenness where there are no fermented liquors ? and of that character- 
izing ambition where there is no social establishment ? 

" The same remarks apply to that egregious charlatan, Lavater, with his 



320 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ClIAP. XXI. 

physical and moral relations. Our credulity lies in the defect of our nature. 
It is inherent in us to wish for the acquisition of positive ideas, when we 
ought, on the contrary, to be carefuUy on our guard against them. We 
scarcely look at a man's features before we undertake to ascertain his char- 
acter. ■ We should be wise enough to repel the idea, and to neutralize those 
deceitful appearances. I was robbed by a person who had gray eyes ; and 
from that moment am I never to look at gray eyes without tlie idea, the fear 
of being robbed ? It was a weapon that wounded me, and of that I am ap- 
prehensive wherever I see it ; but was it the gray eyes that robbed me ? 
Reason and experience — and I have been enabled to derive great benefit from 
both — prove that all those external signs are so many falsehoods. We can 
not be too strictly on our guard against them ; and the only true way of ap- 
preciating and gaining a thorough knowledge of mankind is by trying them, 
and associating Avith them. After all, we sometimes meet with countenances 
so hideous, it must allowed, that the most powerful understanding is con- 
founded, and condemns them in spite of itself." 

July 24. Admiral Malcolm kindly sent up a lieutenant and a party of sea- 
men to pitch a tent, formed of a lower studding-sail. This was quite a com- 
fort to the Emperor, as he was very fond of being in the open air, and no 
shade was afforded by the straggling, gnarly, storm-Avithered gum-trees of 
Longwood. It Avas a damp day, and the Emperor, being unable to go out, 
amused himself for a short time at a billiard-table which his companions had 
just laid down. Sitting in his chamber before dinner with a few of his 
friends, conversation turned upon the emigrants, and the name of ]\Iadam de 
Balbi Avas mentioned. 

The Emperor asked, "But is not this Madam de Balbi a very dangerous 
Avoman ?" 

" Certainly not," replied Las Casas ; " she is, on the contrary, one of the 
best women in the world, Avith a great deal of wit and an excellent judg- 
ment." 

"If that is the case," said the Emperor, "she must have much cause to 
complain of me. Tliis is the painful consequence of false representations. 
She Avas pointed out as a very dangerous character." 

" Yes, sire," Las Casas added, " you made her very unhappy. Madam de 
Balbi placed all her happiness in the charms of society, and you banished her 
from Paris. I met Avith her in one of my missions, confined Avithin her prov- 
ince, and pining aAvay with vexation. Yet she expressed no resentment 
against your majesty, and spoke of you Avith great moderation." 

" Well, then," said the Emperor, " Avhy did you not come to me and set 
me right ?" 

"Ah! sire," Las Casas answered, " your character was then so little known 
to us compared Avith Avhat I know it to be at present, that I should not have 
dared to take it upon myself; but I Avill mention an anecdote of Madam de 
Balbi when at London, during the high tide of our emigration, which wiU 
make you better acquainted with her than any thing I could say. At the 
time when you were declared Consul, a person just arrived from Paris Avas 



1816, July.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 321 

invited to a smaR party at her house. He engrossed the attention of the 
company, in consequence of all the particulars he had to communicate re- 
specting a place which interested us so very materially. He was asked sev- 
eral questions respecting the Consul. ' He can not,' said he, ' live long : he 
is so yellow as to insjpire delight.'' These were his words. He grew more 
animated hy degrees, and gave as a toast, ' The death of the First Consul I ' 
'Oh, horrible!' was the instantaneous exclamation of Madam de Balhi. 
' What, drink to the death of a human being ! For shame ! I will give a 
much better toast — The king's health P " 

"Well," said the Emperor, "I repeat that she was very ill used by me, 
in consequence of the representations which were made to me. She had been 
described as a person fond of political intrigues, and remarkable for the bit- 
terness of her sarcasms. And this puts me in mind of an expressionr which 
is perhaps wrongly attributed to her, but which struck me, however, solel}' 
on account of its wit. I was assured that a distinguished personage, who 
was very much attached to her, was seized with a fit of jealousy, for which 
she clearly proved she had given no cause. He persisted, however, and ob- 
served that she ought to know that the wife of Caesar should be free from 
suspicion. Madam de Balbi replied that the remark contained two import- 
ant mistakes, for it was known to all the world that she was not his wife, 
and that he was not Ca3sar." 

July 25. The Emperor received letters from his mother, his sister Pauline, 
and his brother Lucien; also several European journals up to the 12th of 
May. He was much shocked in reading that his friend and companion. Gen- 
eral Bertrand, was condemned by the Bourbons, for his fidelity to the Em- 
peror, to death. For a moment he seemed quite lost in astonishment, and 
then recollecting himself, said, 

" By the laws of France, a man accused of a capital offense may be tried 
and condemned to death hy outlawry^ but the sentence can not be executed. 
The individual must be tried again and be actually present. I am distress- 
ed, however, on account of the effect which this sentence must produce on 
Madam Bertrand. In revolutions every thing is forgotten. The benefits 
you confer to-day are forgotten to-morrow. The side once changed, grati- 
tude, friendship, parentage, every tie vanishes, and all that is sought for is 
self-interest." 

About three o'clock Admu-al Malcolm called, and requested to be present- 
ed to the Emperor. He brought with him some French journals to aid the 
captive to beguile the weary days of imprisonment. The Emperor received 
him with frankness and cordiality, and conversed with him upon various top- 
ics for nearly three hours. Sir Hudson Lowe was evidently much piqued 
at the kind relations existing between the Emperor and the admiral. In an 
official document to Earl Bathurst, he says, " Sir Pulteney Malcolm has had 
long conversations with Bonaparte, and ajpjpears much in his good graces.'" 

In reference to this interview. Las Casas says, " The admiral gave great 
pleasure to the Emperor, who treated him from the first with a great deal of 
freedom and good-nature, as if he had been an old acquaintance. The ad- 

X 



322 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChaP. XXI. 

miral was entirely of the Emperor's opinion -with regard to a great niimber 
of subjects. He admitted tliat it was extremely ditiicult to escape from St. 
Helena, and that he could see no inconvenience in allowing the Emperor to 
visit freely all parts of the island. He considered it absurd that Plantation 
House had not been given up to the Emperor, and felt, but only since his ar- 
rival, he confessed, that the title of genei'ol might be offensive. He thought 
that Governor Lowe had good intentions, but did not know how to act. ]\lin- 
isters had, in his opinion, been embarrassed with respect to the Emperor, but 
entertained no hatred against him. They did not know how to dispose of 
him. Had he remained in England, he had been, and was still, a terror to 
the Continent, and he would have been too dangerous and efficient an instru- 
ment in the hands of the opposition. He was apprehensive, however, that 
all the«e circumstances would detain us here a long time ; and he expressed 
his contidence that it was the intention of the ministers, with the exception 
of the necessary precautions to prevent his escape, that Napoleon should be 
•treated with every possible indulgence at St. Helena. All tliis Avas said in 
a manner so courteous, that the Emperor discussed the business with him 
with as little warmth as if the matter was one in Avhich he li'ad no personal 
interest whatever." 

At one moment the Emperor produced a sensible effect upon the admiral, 
when, alluding to the commissioners, he pointed out tlie impossibility of re- 
ceiving them in their official capacity. 

"After all, sir," said Napoleon, "you and I are men. I appeal to you : 
is it possible that the Emperor of Austria, whose daughter I married, Avho 
implored that union on his knees, who retains my wife and my son, should 
send me his commissioner without a line to myself, without the smallest 
scrap of a bulletin with respect to my son's health ? Can I receive him Avith 
consistency ? Can I nave any thing to communicate to him ? I may say 
the same thing of the commissioner sent by Alexander, who gloried in calling 
himself my friend, with whom, indeed, I carried on political wars, but had no 
personal quarrel. ^ is a fine thing to be a sovereign, but we are not, on that 
account, the less entitled to be treated as men. I lay claim to no other char- 
acter at present. Can they all be destitute of feeling ? Be assured, sir, that 
when 1 object to the title of Genmsi^li I am not offended. I decline it merely 
because it would be an acknowledgment that I have not been Emperor, and 
in this respect I advocate the honor of others more than my own. I advo- 
cat^the honor of those with whom I have been, in that rank, connected by 
treaties, by family and political alliances. The only one of these commis- 
sioners whom I might perhaps receive would be that of Louis XVIIL, who 
owes me nothing. That commissioner was a long time my subject. He acted 
merely in conformity to circumstances, independent of his option, and I should 
accordingly receive him to-morroAV, Avere I not apprehensive of the misrepre- 
sentations that Avould take place, and of the false coloring that Avould be 
given to the circumstance." 

Jidy 28. Sir Hudson Lowe had noAv adopted the extraordinaiy and exas- 
perating measure of carefriUy examining all the European journals, and send- 



1816, July.l RESIDENCE AT LOJNGWOOD. 323 

ing to the Emperor only those which he was willing that his prisoner should 
see. If a paper was tilled with abuse, it was at once sent to Longwood. 
If an article appeared in any journal defending the Emperor, it was detained. 
Sir Hudson Lowe had the insolence to defend this atrocity under the pre- 
tense of humanity. He said that these friendly articles might excite expect- 
ations in the bosom of the Emperor which would be only doomed to disap- 
pointment. 

Mr. Hobhouse, afterward Lord Broughton, sent to the Emperor a very 
friendly work, in two volumes, written by himseli^ entitled " The Substance 
of some Letters written by an Englishman resident at Paris during the last 
Reign of Napoleon." These letters did some little justice to the abused and 
calumniated victim of combined despotisms. The governor refused to deliver 
these volumes for the assigned reason that the author had written in- one of 
them, '■'■ Invperatori Napoleon.'''' Alluding to this fact in conversation with 
O'Meara, the Emperor said, 

" This galley-slave wotild not allow Ihe book to be sent to me because it 
had 'the Emperor Napoleon' written upon it — because he thought that it 
would give nfe some pleasure to see that all men were not like him, and that 
I was esteemed by some of his nation. I could not have believed that a man 
could be so base and vile." 

In allusion to this subject, the governor subsequently said to Dr. O'Mea- 
ra, as additional reasons for not delivering the volume, " I could not send the 
book to Longwood, as it had not been forwarded through the channel of the 
Secretary of State. Moreover, Lord Castlereagh was extremely ill spoken of, 
and I had no idea of allowing General Bonaparte to read a book in which a 
British minister was treated in such a manner, or even to let him know that 
such a book could be published in England." 

July 29. At the dinner-table to-day the Emperor astonished all his com- 
panions by turning, with a stern look, to one of the servants in waiting, and 
exclaiming, 

" So, then, assassin, you resolved to kill the governor ! Wretch ! if such 
a thought ever again enters your head, you will have to do with me. You 
will see how I shall treat you." 

Then turning to the gentlemen at the table, he said, 

" Gentlemen, it is Santini, there, who determined to kill the governor. 
That rascal was about to involve us in a sad embarrassment. I found it 
necessary to exert all my authority, all my indignation, to restrain him. It 
was only by imperial, by pontifical authority that I finally succeeded in 
making the scoundrel desist altogether from his project. Observe for a mo- 
ment the fatal consequences he was about to produce. I should also have 
passed for the murderer, the assassin of the governor ; and, in reality, it would 
have been very difficult to destroy such an impression in the minds of a great 
number of people." 

Santini was a Corsican, of intense passions, and devoted to the Emperor 
with fervor almost supernatural. Enraged by the afironts he saw heaped 
ujton his master by the governor, he formed the project of shooting the petty 



324 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXI. 

despot, and of then putting an end to liis own existence. He revealed tlie 
plan to liis countryman Cypriani, saying that he was determined thus to rid 
the world of a monster. Cypriani, not being able to dissuade him from his 
atrocious enterprise, revealed his design to the Emperor. 

July 31. The weather to-day was dark, wet, and dismal, so that the Em- 
peror found great difficulty in going to Madam de Montholon's saloon. After 
dinner he read, first. La ]\Iere Coupable, and next, the Melanie of La Harpe, 
wliich he thought w^-etcliedly conceived and very badly executed. 

" It is," said he, " a turgid declamation, in perfect conformity with the 
taste of the times, founded in fashionable calumnies and absurd falsehoods. 
When La Harpe wrote that piece, a father certainly had not the power of 
forcing his daughter to take the veil. The laws would never have allowed 
it. This play, which was performed at the beginning of the Revolution, was 
solely indebted for its success to the momentary caprice of public opinion. 
Now that the inducement is over, it would be a wretched performance ! La 
Hai-pe's characters are all unnatural. ' He should not have attacked defective 
institutions with defective weapons. 

" La Harpe has so completely failed in his object with regard to my own 
impressions, that all my feelings are in favor of the father, while I am shock- 
ed at the daughter's conduct. I have never seen the performance without 
being tempted to start from my seat and caU out to the daughter, ' You have 
but to say No, and we will all take your part. You will find a protector in 
eveiy citizen.' When I was on service with my regiments, I often witnessed 
the ceremony of taking the veil. It was a ceremony very much attended by 
the ofiicers, and which raised our indignation, particularly when the victims 
were handsome. We ran in crowds to it, and our attention was aHve to the 
slightest incident. Had they but said no, we should have carried them oft', 
sword in hand. It is consequently false that violence is used. The only 
means employed are the arts of seduction. Those upon whom they are prac- 
ticed are kept not unlike recruits. They are exposed to the blandishments 
and exhortations of the nuns, the abbess, the spiritual director, and the bish- 
op ; to the examination of the civil officer, and, finally, to public view. Thus 
every thing seems to concur in prevailing upon them to make the sacrifice. 

" I am an enemy," he continued, "to convents in general, as useless, and 
productive of degrading inactivity. In another point of view, certain reasons 
may be pleaded in their favor. The best inezzo terinine, and I have adopt- 
ed it, is, in my opinion, that of tolerating them, of obliging the members to 
become useful, and of recognizing annual vows alone. I have not been al- 
lowed time enough to complete my institutions. It was my intention to en- 
large the establishments of Saint Denis and Ecouen, for the purpose of giving 
an asylum to the widows of soldiers, or women advanced in years. And 
then it must be allowed that there are characters and imaginations of all 
kinds. Compulsion ought not to be used with regard to persons of an ec- 
centric turn, provided their oddities are harmless ; and an empire like France 
may, and has a right to, have houses for madmen called Trappistes. With 
respect to the latter, if any one ever thought of inflicting upon others tlie 



1816, August.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 335 

discipline which they practice, it would he justly considered a most ahomin- 
ahle tyranny, and it might, notwithstanding, constitute the delight of him 
who exercised it upon himself. This is man ! these his fanatical pursuits, 
or his folly ! I have tolerated the monks of Mount Cenis, hut these, at least, 
were useful, very useful, and might be even called heroical. 

" I have nothing to say against the ancient bishops. They have shown 
themselves grateful for what I did for religion. All these ancient bishops 
possessed my confidence, and none of them deceived me. It is not a little 
singular that those of whom I had the greatest cause to complain were pre- 
cisely those whom I had chosen myself. So very true is it that the holy 
unction, in approximating us to heaven, does not deliver us from the infirmi- 
ties of earth, from its irregularities, its turpitudes." 

The conversation then turned upon the want of priests in France. They 
had been ordained at a very early age — at twenty-one, and even at sixteen. 
The Emperor had wished to wait for more mature years. "It is very well," 
replied the bishops and the Pope ; " your reasons are just ; but, if you wait 
for that period, you will find none to ordain." 

"I have no doubt," the Emperor continued, "that after me other princi- 
ples wiU be adopted. A conscription of priests and nuns will perhaps be 
seen in France, as a military conscription was seen in my time. My bar- 
racks will probably be turned into convents and seminaries. Thus the world 
runs on. Poor people ! In spite of all your knowledge, ail your wisdom, 
you continue, like simple individuals, the slaves of fashionable caprice." 

The conversation was thus continued until nearly one o'clock in the morn- 
ing. The Emperor, as he retired, said, "It is a real victory over tedious- 
ness, and a great relief for the want of sleep." 



CHAPTER XXII. 

1816, August. 

Maria Antoinette — Manners of Versailles — The Father of a Family — Napoleon's Sentimental Jour- 
ney — Spirit of the Times — The 10th of August — Piedmont — Canals of France — Plans for Paris 
— Versailles — Fontainebleau — History of Europe — Turkey — The Regency — Gustavus IV. — Ber- 
nadotte — Paul — Projects on India — War with Russia — Talleyrand — Madam de Stael. 

August 1. Another dark and dismal day enveloped in mist and gloom the 
storm-scathed rock. The Emperor was oppressed with melancholy. Speak- 
ing of the court of Louis XVI., he said, 

" Louis XVI. would have been the model of a good man in private life, 
but he was a wretched king. The queen would, no doubt, have been at all 
times the ornament of every circle ; but her levity, her inconsistencies, and 
her want of capacity contributed not a little to promote and accelerate the 
catastrophe. She deranged the manners of Versailles. Its ancient gravity 
and strict etiquette were transformed into the free-and-easy prettinesses and 
absolute tittle-tattle of a private party. No man of sense and importance 
could avoid the jests of the young courtiers, whose natural disposition for 
raillery was sharpened by the applauses of a young and beautiful sovereign." 



326 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [CUAP. XXII. 

After dinner tlic Kniiioror reud to the u.s8cn\blcd exiles in liin room The 
Father of a Familij. lie censured the work severely. "All it eontuins," 
said he, " is i'alse anil riilieidous. VV^hy reason with a madman in the height 
of u ra<iin<r fever ? lie stands in need of remedies and of a decisive mode of 
trcafmcnt. Who does not know that the only safeguard against love is 
llighl Y When Mentor wishes to secure Telenvaehus, he plunges him into tlie 
sea. When Ulysses endeavors to })reserve himself from the Syrens he gets 
himself tieil fast, after liaving sto])ped the ears of his companions with wax." 

Auyuxt H. The I^juiperor improved a tolerably j)leasant morning in taking 
a walk with Las Oasas. ])inMng his walk he conversed a great deal about a 
journey which lie took to IJurgundy in the beginning of the Kcvolution. 
This he calls his Seitthnental Journey to Nuitz. 

"I snp])ed there,'' said he, "with my conn-ade (lattsendi, at that time cap- 
tain in the same regiment, who was advantageously married to tlie daughter 
of a physician of the jdace. I soon remarked the difference of political opin- 
ion bet\V(>en the fath(>r and son-in-law. Oassendi Avas, of course, an aristo- 
crat, and the })hysieiau a, ilaming j)atriot. Tlie latter found in me a power- 
ful auxiliary, and A\as so delighted, lliat the following day, at dawn, he paid 
mc a visit of aeknowledguuMit and synijiathy. 

"The appearance of a young otlieer of artillery, with gooil logical reason- 
ing anil ;i ready tongue, was," continued the Emperor, "a precious ami rare 
accession to the j)laee. It was easy for me \(^ ]iereeive that 1 had made an 
impression in \\\\ I'avor. It was Sunday, and liats were taken off to me from 
the bottom of the street. My triumph, however, a\ as not withi)ut a check. 
I went to suj) at the house of a Madam Maret or l\lun>t, where another of my 
connades seemed \o be eonifortably eslablisheil. Here the aristocracy of the 
canton wc>n> aeeuslonicd (o intn-t, although the mistress was but the wile of 
a wine-mereliant ; but siie iiad great jiroperty anil the most polished manners 
- — she was the duchess of the ])laee. .Vll the gentlefolks Avere to be found 
there. I Avas caught in a real wasp's nest, and it Avas necessary for me to 
light my Avay out again. 

" '^riie contest Avas nncipial. I ii the very heat of the action the mayor Avas 
announced. 1 belicA'cd him to be an assistant sent to me by lleaA^n in the 
critical moment, but he Avas the Avorst of all my ojiponeivts. I see the vil- 
lainous fellow now before me, in his tiiie Sunday clothes, fat and bloated, in 
a large crimson coat, lie Avas a miserable animal. I Avas happily preserved 
by the generosity of the mistress of the house, perha])s by a secret sympathy 
of opinion. She unceasingly parried Avith her Avit the bloAVS Avhicii Avere 
dealt at me, and was a ]>rotecting shield on Avhich the enemy's Aveapons struck 
in vain. She guarded nu^ from every kind of Avound, and I have always re- 
tained a pleasing recollection of the services 1 received from her in that spe- 
cies of skirmish. 

"The same diversity of o]nnions Avas then to be met Avith in CA'cry part 
of France. In the saloons, in the streets, on the higlnvays, in the taA-erus, 
OAcrA' oncAvas readA' io lake part in the contest, and nothins^; AA'as easier than 
for a person to form an erroneous estimate of the intluence of parties and 



181G, August] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 327 

opinion, according to the local situation in which he was placed. Thus a 
patriot might easily he deceived when in the saloons, or among an assembly 
of officers where the majority was decidedly against him ; hut the instant he 
was in the street or among the soldiers, he found himself in the midst of the 
entire nation. The sentiments of the day succeeded even hi making pros- 
elytes among the officers themselves, particularly after the celebrated oath 
' to the nation^ the lavj, and the Icing.'' 

" Until that time, had I received an order to point my cannon against the 
people, I have no doubt that custom, prejudice, education, and the name of 
the king would have induced me to obey ; but the national oath once taken, 
this would have ceased, and I should have acknowledged the nation only. 
My natural propensities thenceforth harmonized with my duties, and happily 
accorded with all the metaphysics of the Assembly. The patriotic officers, 
however, it must be allowed, constituted but the smaller number ; but with 
the aid of soldiers, they led the regiment and imposed the law. The com- 
rades of the opposite party, and the principals themselves, had recourse to us 
in every moment of tlie crisis. I remember, for instance, having rescued from 
the fury of the pojiulace a brother officer, whose crime consisted in singing 
from the windows of our dining-saloon the celebrated romance of ' O Rich- 
ard ! O mon lloi ! ' I had little notion then that that air would one day be 
also proscribed in the same manner on my account. Just so, on the 10th of 
August, when I saw the palace of the Tuileries earned by force, and the per- 
son of the king seized upon, I was certainly very far from thinking that I 
should replace him, and that that palace would be my place of residence. 

" I was, during that horrible epoch at Paris, in lodgings in the Rue du 
Mail, Place des Yictoircs. On hearing the sound of the tocsin, and the news 
whicli were circulated of the assault upon the Tuileries, I ran to the Carrou- 
sel, to tlie house of Fauvelet, the brother of Bourienne, who kept a furniture 
warehouse. He had been my comrade at the military school of Brienne. It 
was from that house, which, by-the-by, I was never afterward able to find in 
conse(iuence of the great alterations effected there, that I saw all the particu- 
lars of the attack. Before I reached the Carrousel, I had been met by a group 
of liidcous-looking men, carrying a head at the end of a pike. Seeing me 
tolerably well dressed, with the appearance of a gentleman, they called upon 
me to shout Vive la Nation ! which, as it may be easily believed, I did 
without hesitation. The palace was attacked by the vilest rabble. The 
king had unquestionably for his defense as many troops as the Convention 
afterward had on the 13th Vendemiaire, and the enemies of the latter were 
much more disciplined and formidable. The greater part of the National 
Guard showed themselves favorable to the king ; this justice is due to them." 
" I actually belonged," said Count Bertrand, " to one of the battahons 
that evinced the most determined devotion. I was several times on the 
point of being massacred as I returned alone to my residence. The National 
Guard of Paris has constantly displayed the virtues of its class, the love of 
order, devotedness to authority, the dread of plunder, and the detestation of 
anarchy." 



328 



NAPOLEON AT ST HELENA. 



[Chap. IvXlI. 




THE ATTACK UPON THE TUILERIES. 



" The palace being forced," continued the Emperor, " and the king received 
within the bosom of the Assembly, I ventured to penetrate into the garden. 
Never since has any of my fields of battle given me the idea of so many dead 
bodies as I was impressed with by the heaps of Swiss, whether the small- 
ness of the place seemed to increase the number, or that it was the result of 
the first impression I experienced of that nature. I saw well-dressed women 
commit the grossest indecencies on the dead bodies of the Swiss. I went 
through all the coifee-houses in the neighborhood of the Assembly. The ir- 
ritation was every where extreme ; fury was in every heart, and showed it- 
self in every countenance, although the persons thus inflamed were far from 
belonging to the class of the populace. And all these places must necessarily 
iiave been frequented daily by the same visitors ; for, although I had nothing 
particular in my dress, or perhaps it was because my face was more calm, it 
was easy for me to perceive that I excited many hostile and distrustful looks, 
as some one unknown or suspected." 

ji2i(/ust 4. The weather was much improved, and the Emperor rode out 
in his calash. Conversation ran upon aU topics. Speaking of Piedmont, he 
said, 

" In fact, the Piedmontese do not like to be a small state. Their king 
was a real feudal lord, whom it was necessary to pay court to or to dread. 
He had more power and authority than I, who, as Emperor of the French, 
was but a supreme magistrate, bound to see the laws executed, and incom- 
petent to dispense with them. Had I it in my power to prevent the arrest 
of a courtier for debt ? Could I have put a stop to the regular action of the 
laws, no matter upon whom they operated ?" 

He afterward spoke of the canals wliich he had ordered to be constructed 



1816, August.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 329 

in France, and remarked, " I hope sufficient progress was made in the canal 
from Straslburg to Lyons, which I caused to be commenced, to induce others 
to finish it. I think that 'out of thirty niilhons of francs, twenty-four must 
have heen abeady expended. Communications are now established in the 
interior from Bordeaux to Lyons and Paris. I had constructed a great num- 
ber of canals, and projected a great many more." 

"A proposal for one very useful canal was submitted to you, sire," ob- 
served Las Casas, "but measures were taken to deceive you, for the purpose 
of preventing your acceptance of the offer." 

"Without doubt," replied the Emperor, "the plan must have appeared 
advantageous only on paper. But I suppose it would have been necessary 
to advance money, which was drawn from me with difficulty." 

" No, sire, the refusal was but the eifect of intrigue. Your majesty was 
deceived." 

"It was impossible, with respect to such a subject," said the Emperor; 
"you speak without sufficient information." 

" But I am confident of it, sire," continued Las Casas. " I was acquainted 
with the plan, the ofifers, and the subscribers. My relations had put down 
their names for considerable sums. The intended object was the union of 
the Meuse with the Marne. The extent of the canal would have been less 
than seven leagues." 

" But you do not teU us all," observed the Emperor. " It was perhaps 
required that I should grant away immense national forests in the environs, 
which I should not have agreed to." 

" No, sire, the whole was an intrigue of your board of bridges and roads." 

" But even then it was necessary for them to allege some reasons, some 
appearance of public interest. What reasons did they assign ?" 

" Sire, that the profits would have been too considerable." 

" But, in that case, the plan ought to have been submitted to me in per- 
son, and I would have carried it into execution. I repeat that you are not 
justified by facts. You are speaking now to a man upon the very subject 
which constantly engaged his attention. The board of bridges and roads 
were, on their part, never happier than when they were employed. There 
never was an individual who proposed the construction of a bridge that was 
not taken at his word. If he asked a toll for twenty-five years, I was dis- 
posed to grant him one for thirty. If it cost me nothing, it was a matter 
of indifference whether it would prove useful. It was always a capital with 
which I enriched the soil. Instead of rejecting proposals for canals, I ea- 
gerly courted them. But, my dear sir, there are no two things that resemble 
each other so little as the conversation of a saloon and the consideration of 
an administrative council. The projector is always right in a saloon. His 
projects would be magnificent and infalKble if he were listened to, and if he 
can, by some little contrivance, but connect the refusal under which he suf- 
fers with some bottle of wine, with some intrigue carried on by a wife or mis- 
tress, the romance is complete, and that is what you probably heard. But 
an administrative council is not to be managed so, because it comes to no de- 



330 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXII. 

cision but on facts and accurate measurement. What is the canal you men- 
tioned? I can not be unacquainted -with it." 

" Sire, from the Meuse to the Marne, a distance of seven leagues only." 

" Very well, my dear sir ; it is from the Meuse to the Aisne, you mean to 
say, and it would have been less than seven leagues. I shall soon recollect 
all about it. There is, however, but one difficulty to overcome, and that is, 
that at this very instant it is doubtful whether the project be practicable. 
There, as in other places, Hippocrates says yes, and Galen says 7io. Tarbe 
maintained that it was impossible, and denied that there was a sufficiency of 
water at the points of separation. I repeat that you are speaking to him 
who, of all others, is the most attentive to these objects, more especially in 
the environs of Paris. It was the subject of my perpetual dreams to render 
Paris the real capital of Europe. I sometimes wished it, for instance, to be- 
come a city with a population of two, three, or four millions — in a word some- 
thing fabulous, colossal, unexampled till om* days, and Avith public establish- 
ments suitable to its population." 

Las Casas observed, "Ah! sire, if Heaven had allowed you to reign six- 
ty years, as it did Louis XIV., you would have left many grand monuments." 

" Had Heaven but granted me twenty years, and a little more leisure," 
said the Emperor, with vivacity, " ancient Paris would have been sought for 
in vain. Not a trace of it would have been left ; and I should have changed 
the face of France. Archimedes promised every thing provided he was sup- 
plied with a resting-place for his lever. I should have done as much wher- 
ever I could have found a point of support for my energy, my perseverance, 
and my budgets. A world might be created with budgets. I should have 
displayed the difference between a constitutional emperor and a king of 
France. The kings of France have never possessed any administrative or 
municipal institution. They have merely shown themselves great lords, who 
ruined their men of business. The nation itself has nothing in its charac- 
ter but what is transitory and perishable. Every thing is done for the grat- 
ification of the moment and of caprice, nothing for duration. That is our 
motto, and it is exemplified by our manners in France. Every one passes 
his life in doing and undoing — nothing is ever left behind. Is it not unbe- 
coming that Paris should not possess even a French theatre, or an Opera- 
house, in any respect worthy of its high claims ? 

" I have often set myself against the feasts which the city of Paris wished 
to give me. They consisted of dinners, balls, artificial fire-works, at an ex- 
pense of two or three hundred thousand dollars, the preparations for which 
obstructed the public for several days, and which afterward cost as much to 
take away as they had in their construction. I proved that, with these idle 
expenses, they might have erected lasting and magnificent monuments. 

" One must have gone through as much as I have in order to be acquaint- 
ed with all the difficulty of doing good. If the business related to chimneys, 
partitions, and fiimiture for some individuals in the imperial palaces, the 
work was quick and effectual ; but if it was necessary to lengthen the gar- 
den of the Tuileries, to render some quarters wholesome, to clean some sew- 



1816, August.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 331 

ers, and to accomplish a task Ibeneficial to the public, in which no particular 
person had a direct interest, I found it requisite to exert all the energy of mj 
character, to write six, ten letters a day, and to get into a downright passion. 
It was in this way that I paid out as much as thirty millions in sewers, for 
which nobody will ever thank me. I pulled down a property of seventeen 
millions in houses in front of the Tuileries for the purpose of forming the 
Carrousel and tlirowing open the Louvre. What I did is immense. What 
I had resolved to do, and what I projected, were much more so." 

"Your labors, sire," replied Las Casas, "were not Hmited either to Paris 
or to France. Almost every town in Italy supplies instances of your crea- 
tive powers. Every where one travels, at the foot as well as at the top of 
the Alps, on the sands of Holland, on the banks of the Rhine, Napoleon, al- 
ways Napoleon, is to be seen." 

" At one time," remarked the Emperor, "I had determined on draining the 
Pontine Marshes. Cassar was about to undertake it when he perished. But 
to return to France. The kings had too many country houses and useless 
objects. Any impartial historian will be justified in blaming Louis XIV. for 
his excessive and idle expenditure at Versailles, involved as he was in wars, 
taxes, and calamities. He exhausted himself for the purpose of forming, aft- 
er all, but a bastard town. The advantages of an administrative town, that 
is to say, calculated for the union of the different branches of administration, 
seem to me truly problematical. The capital is not a fit residence at all 
times for the sovereign ; but, in another point of view, Versailles was not 
suitable to the great, the ministers, and the courtiers. Fontainebleau is the 
real abode for kings, the house for centuries. It is not, perhaps, strictly 
speaking, an architectural palace, but it is, unquestionably, well planned and 
perfectly suitable. It is certainly the most commodious and the most hap- 
pily situated in Europe for the sovereign. It is also the most suitable polit- 
ical and military situation. 

" I reproach myself for the sums I expended on Versailles, but it was nec- 
essary to prevent it from falling into ruins. It was proposed, during the 
Revolution, to take away the middle, and thus to separate the two sides. It 
would have been of essential service to me, for nothing is so expensive or 
so truly useless as this multitude of palaces ; and if, notwithstanding, I un- 
dertook that of the King of Rome, it was because I had views peculiar to 
myself, and besides, in reality, I never thought of doing more than preparing 
the ground. There I should have stopped. My errors, in disbursements 
of this kind, could not, after all, be very great. They were, thanks to my 
budgets, observed and necessarily corrected every year, and could never ex- 
ceed a small part of the expense occasioned by the original fault. 

" I experienced every difficulty in making my system of budgets intelli- 
gible, and in carrying it into execution. Whenever a plan, to the amount 
of thirty millions, which suited me was proposed, ' Granted' was my an- 
swer, but to be wound up in twenty years, that is to say, at fifteen hundred 
thousand francs a year [$300,000]. So far, all went on smoothly. But 
what am I to get, I added, for my first year ? for, if my expenditure is di- 



■\'^y'2 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ClIAP. XXII. 

viilod into pavt^, it is, howcvov, my ilotiM-niiu;itiou to liavo the vosult, tlio 
work oiitiro and coniploto. In tliis mannov, I wishoil at first tor ;i rocoss, an 
apartment, no matter what, bnt something j)ert"eet, tor my tit'teen hundred 
thousand iVanes. The architects seemed ifsolved not to etmiprehend my 
meaning". It narrowed tlieir expansive vicAVS and their grantl etleets. 'i'hey 
wonhl at onee have wilHngly erected a whoK> ta(,Mde, Avhieh nmst have re- 
mained tor a hMig time nseU^ss, and thns involveil me in inuncnso disburse- 
ments, which, it" interrnpted, Avonhl have swaUowed up every thing. 

"It was in that manner Avhich was peenHar to myself, and in spite of so 
many ]ioHtical and miHtary obstacles, that 1 executed so many midertakings. 
I had addctl torty millions | $8,000,000] to the crown etfects, of Avhich four 
millions [ 5iiS(H\(HH) ], at least, consisted of silver jdate. How many ])alaees 
have 1 not rcpaircil! IVrhaj^s loo many. I return to that subject. Thanks 
to my mode ot' acting, I was cnabknl to inhabit Fontainebleau witliiu one 
year after the repairs Averc begun, and it cost nu^ no more than live or six 
hundred thousand francs [$120,000]. If I have since expended six mill- 
ions on it [$1,200,000], that was merely tlie result of six years. It would 
have cost me nuich more in the course of tin>e. j\ly principal object was to 
make the expense light and imperceptible, and to give durability to the work. 

"During my visits to Fontainebleau, from twelve to lifteen Imndred per- 
sons Avere invited and lodged Avith CAcry convenience. UpAvard oi' three 
thousand might be entertained at dinner, and this cost the sovereign very lit- 
tle, in consequence of the admirable order and regularity established by Du- 
roc. More than tAventy or tAvcnty-tiA-e princes, dignitaries, or ministers Avere 
obliged to keep their households there. 

'' I disapproA'cd of the building of A'ersailles ; bnt, in my notions respect- 
injr Paris, and thcA' Avcre occasionallA' msrantie, I thouirht ot' makinir it useful, 
and of couA'crting it, in the course of time, into a kind of faubourg, an adja- 
cent site, a point of vicAV from the grand capital. I had conceiA'cd a plan, of 
Avhich I had a description sketched out, for the more etfectually approjnia- 
ting it to that end. It Avas my intention to expel from its beautiful thickets 
those nymphs, the productions of a Avretched taste, and those ornaments a la 
Ttif'cant, and to replace then\ by panoramas, in masonry, of all the capitals 
into Avhich Ave had entered victorious, and of all the celebrated battles Avhich 
had rendered our arms so ilhistrio\is. It Avoidd have been a collection of so 
many eternal monuments of our triumphs and our national glory, placed at 
the gate of the capital ot' Kurope, Avhich necessarily could not fail of bcins; 
visited by the rest of the Avorld." 

Ari(pfs/ 5. "Sir Hudson Loavc came to TjOngAVOod," says Hr. O'^Ieara, 
"and, calling me aside hi a mysterious manner, asked if I thought that 
General Bonaparte Avould take it Avell if he inviteil him to a ball at Plan- 
tation House on the Prince Keg-ent's birth-day? I replied that, under all 
circumstances, T thought it most probable that he Avould look upon it as an 
insult, especially if made to (rt'/ura/ lionajxn/'fi'. His excellency remiU'ked 
that he AA'Ould avoid that by asking him in person." 

The Emperor, hoAvever, declined seeing the governor, and, to avoid his in- 



1816, August.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 333 

trusion, remained in the hath until Sir lludHoii Jjowe Iiad left Longwood. 
While in the bath he read two volumes of Ottoman liiHtory, ConverBing 
upon this subject with Las Casas, he said, 

"I have conceived the idea, and regret that I have been unable to execute 
it, of having all the histories gf l^jurojKj, since Louis XIV., composed on the 
very documents belonging to our foreign affairs, which contained the official 
reports of all the embassadors. My reign would liavc been a perfect epoch 
for that object. The .'y-iperiority of J'Vance, its independence and regenera- 
tion, enabled the actual government to make such a publication without in- 
convenience. It would have resembled the publication of ancient Iiistory. 
Nothing could have been more valuable. 

" I once wrote to Sultan Selim 111., ' Sultan, come forth from thy seraglio, 
place thyself at the head of thy troops, and renew the glorious days of thy 
monarchy.' Selim, the Louis XVI. of the Turks, who was very much at- 
tached and very favorable to us, contented himself with answering that the 
advice was excellent for the first princes of his dynasty, but that the man- 
ners of those times were very difft^rent, and that such a conduct would at 
present bo unseasonable and altogether uproductive. 

"Nobody knows," added the J^]mperor, "liow to calculate with certainty 
the energy of the sudden burst which might be produced by a sultan of Con- 
stantinople, who was capable of placing himself at the head of his people, of 
infusing new spirits into them, and of exciting that fanatical multitude to ac- 
tion. I'or my own part, if I had been able to unite the Mamelukes with my 
French, I should have considered myself the master of the world. With that 
chosen handful, and the rabble recruited on the spot, to be expended in the 
hour of need, I know nothing that could have resisted me. Algiers trembled 
at it. The I)ey of Algiers said one day to the French consul, ' J>ut, should 
your sultan ever take it into his head to pay us a visit, what safety could 
we hope for, for he has defeated the Mamelukes?' The Mamelukes were, 
in fact, objects of veneration and terror throughout the East. They were 
looked upon as invincible until our time." 

The J^]mperor, while waiting for dinner, was reclining upon his couch in 
the midst of his friends. He took up a book wliich was lying by his side. 
It was the History of the Kegency. 

" This," exclaimed the Kmperor, "was one of the most abominable eras 
of our annals. It is indeed deplorable that it has been described with the 
levity of the age, and not with the severity of history. It has been strewed 
with tlie flowers of fashionable life, and set off with the coloring of the graces, 
instead of having been treated with exact justice. The regency was, in real- 
ity, the reign of the depravity of the heart, of the libertinism of the mind, . 
and of the most radical immorality of every species. It was such that I be- 
lieve in all the liorrors and abominations with which the manners of the He- 
gcnt were reproached in the bosom of his own family. The epoch of the Kc- 
gent witnessed the overthrow of every kind of property, and the destruction 
of public morals. Nothing was held sacred, citlicr in manners or in princi- 
ples. The Regent was personally overwhelmed with infamy." 



334 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. XXII. 

August G. The tent, which had been delayed and damaged by the bad 
weather, was now completed. It was quite an important contribution to the 
comfort of the Emperor. lie went out to visit it, very kindly thanked the 
seamen for their labor, and invited the English officer who had superintend- 
ed the work to breakfast with him and his friends beneath its refreshing 
shade. 

August 7. Tlie Emperor again breakfasted in his tent, and then employed 
many hours in reviewing the chapters on the Campaign of Italy. He then 
took a ride, with some of his friends, in his calash. Upon his return to his 
apartment, he made the following interesting and remarkable observations : 




NAPOLEON DESCENDING THE ALPS, 



" Gustavus IV.," said the Emperoi*, " on his appearance in the world, an- 
nounced himself as a liero, but he terminated his career merely as a madman. 
He distinguished himself in his early days by some very remarkable traits. 
While yet under age, he was seen to insult Catharine by the refusal of her 
granddaughter, at the moment, even, when that gi-eat empress, seated on her 
throne and surrounded by her court, waited only for him to celebrate the 
marriage ceremony. 

"At a later period he insulted Alexander in no less marked a manner, by 
refusing, after Paul's catastrophe, one of the new emperor's officers entrance 
into his tcnitory, and by answering to the official complaints addressed to 



1816, August.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 335 

him on this subject that Alexander ought not to he displeased ; that he who 
still wept for the assassination of his father should shut the entrance of his 
states against one of those accused hj the public voice of having immolated 
his own. 

" On my accession to the sovereignty he declared himself my great antag- 
onist. It might have been supposed that nothing short of renewing the ex- 
ploits of the great Gustavus Adolphus would have satisfied him. He ran 
over the whole of Germany for the purpose of stirring up enemies against 
me. At the time of the catastrophe of the Duke d'Enghien he swore he 
would exact vengeance in person, and at a later period he insolently sent 
back the black eagle to the King of Prussia because the latter had accepted 
my Legion of Honor. 

"His fatal moment at length arrived. A conspiracy of no common kind 
tore him from the throne and transported him out of his states. The una- 
nimity evinced against him is no doubt a proof of the wrongs he had com- 
mitted. I am ready to admit that he was inexcusable and even mad, but it 
is, notwithstanding, extraordinary and unexampled that a single sword was 
not drawn in his defense in that crisis, whether from affection, from grati- 
tude, from virtuous feeling, or even from mere simplicity, if it must be so, 
and truly it is a circumstance which does little honor to the atmosphere of 
kings. 

^ " After the battle of Leipsic, I was informed, on the part of Gustavus, that 
he had no doubt been my enemy a long time, but for a long time I was, of 
all others, the sovereign of whom he had the least to complain, and, for a long 
time also, his only sentiments with regard to me had been those of admira- 
tion and sympathy ; that his actual misfortunes permitted him to express his 
feelings without restraint ; that he offered to be my aid-de-camp, and request- 
ed an asylum in France. I was affected, but I soon reflected that, if I re- 
ceived him, my dignity would be pledged to make exertions in his favor. 

" Besides, I no longer ruled the world, and then common minds would not 
fail to discover in the interest I took for him an impotent hatred against Ber- 
nadotte ; finally, Gustavus had been dethroned by the voice of the people, 
and it was the voice of the people by which I had been elevated. In taking 
up the cause, I should have been guilty of inconsistency in my own conduct, 
and have acted upon discordant principles. In short, I dreaded lest I should 
render affairs more complicated than they were, and silenced my feelings of 
generosity. I caused him to be answered that I appreciated what he offered 
me, and that I was sensible of it ; but that the political interest of France did 
not allow me to indulge in my private feelings, and that it even imposed upon 
me the painful task of refusing, for the moment, the asylum which he asked ; 
that he would, however, greatly deceive himself if he supposed me to enter- 
tain any other sentiments than those of extreme good-will and sincere wishes 
for his happiness. 

" Some time after the expulsion of Gustavus, while the succession to the 
crown was vacant, the Swedes, desirous of recommending themselves to me 
and securing the protection of France, asked me to give them a king. My 



336 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXII. 

attention was for an instant turned to the Viceroy Eugene, but it would 
have been necessary for him to change his rehgion, which I deemed beneath 
my dignity, and that of all those who belonged to me ; besides, I did not 
think the pohtical result sufficiently important to excuse an action so con- 
trary to our manners. I attached, however, too much A-alue to the idea of 
seeing tlie throne of Sweden in possession of a Frenchman. In my situa- 
tion, it Avas a puerile sentiment. The real king, according to my political 
system and the true interests of France, was the King of Denmark, because 
I should then have governed Sweden by the hiiluence of my simple contact 
with the Danish provinces. Bernadotte was elected, and he was indebted 
for his elevation to his wife, the sister-in-law of my brother Joseph, who then 
reigned in Madrid. Bernadotte, affecting great dependence upon me, came 
to ask for my approbation, protesting, with too visible an anxiety, that he 
would not accept the crown unless it Avas agreeable to me. 

" I, the elected monarch of the people, had to answer that I could not set 
myself against the elections of other people. It was what I told Bernadotte, 
whose whole attitude betrayed the anxiety excited by the expectation of my 
answer. I added that he had only to take advantage of the good-will of 
which he had been the object ; that I wished to be considered as having had 
no weight in his election, but that it had my approbation an(jl my best wish- 
es. I felt, however, a secret instinct, shall I say it, which made the thing 
disagi'eeable and painful. Bernadotte was, in fact, the serpent which I nour- 
ished in my bosom. He had scarcely left us when he clung to the system 
of our enemies, and we were obliged to watch and dread him. At a later 
period he was one of tlie great active causes of our calamities. It was he 
who gave to our enemies the key of our political system, and communicated 
the tactics of our armies. It was he who pointed out to them the way to the 
sacred soil. In vain would he excuse himself by saying that, in accepting 
the crown of Sweden, he was thenceforth bound to be a Swede only. Pitiful 
excuse ! valid only with those of the populace and the vulgar that are ambi- 
tious. In taking a wife, one does not renounce his mother, stiU less is he 
bound to trajistix her bosom and tear out her entrails. It is said that he 
afterward repented — that is to say, Avhen it Avas no longer time, and when the 
mischief AA^as done. The fact is, that in iuiding himself" once more among 
us, he perceiA'ed that opinion exacted justice of him. He felt himself stiTick 
A\ath death. Then the lilm fell from his eyes, for no one knoAvs to AA^iat 
dreams his presumption and his A'anity might IiaA'e incited liim m his bhnd- 
ness." 

"It seems to me,"' said Las Casas, "a Aery fantastical and extraordinary 
matter of chance, that the soldier Bernadotte, elcA^ated to a croAAni for Avdiich 
Protestantism Avas a necessary qualification, was actually born a Protestant, 
and that his son, destined to reign over the ScandinaAdans, presented himself 
in the midst of them Avith the national name of Oscar."' 

" My dear Las Casas," replied the Emperor, "it is because that chance, 
so often cited, of which the ancients made a deity, Avhich astonishes us CA'ery 
day and strikes us every instant, does not, after all, appear so singular, so 



1816, August.] RESIDENCE AT LOiNGWOOD. ' 337 

capricious, so extraordinary, but in consequence of Our ignorance of the se- 
cret and altogether natural causes hj which it is produced. And yet this 
single combination is sufficient to create the marvelous and give birth to mys- 
teries ! Here, for instance, with respect to the first point, that of having been 
born a Protestant, let not the honor of that circumstance be assigned to 
chance ; blot that out. With regard to the second, the name of Oscar, it 
was I Avho was his godfather, and when I gave him the name I was raving 
mad with Ossian. It presented itself, of course, very naturally. You now 
see how simple that is which so greatly astonished you." 

Speaking of Paul of Russia, the Emperor said, 

" He had been promised Malta the moment it was taken possession of by 
the English. Malta reduced, the English ministers denied that they had 
promised it to him. It is confidently stated that, on the reading of this 
shameful falsehood, Paul felt so indignant, that, seizing the dispatch in full 
council, he run his sword through it, and ordered it to be sent back in that 
condition by way of answer. If this be a folly, it must be allowed that it is 
the folly of a noble soul. It is the indignation of virtue, which was incapable 
until then of suspecting such baseness. 

"At the same time, the English ministers, treating with us for the exchange 
of prisoners, refused to include the Russian prisoners taken in Holland, who 
were in the actual service and fought for the sole cause of the English. I 
had hit upon the bent of Paul's cliaracter. I seized time by the forelock. 
I collected these Russians. I clothed them, and sent them back without any 
expense. From that instant that generous heart was altogether devoted to 
me ; and as I had no interest in opposition to Russia, and should never have 
spoken or acted but with justice, there is no doubt but that I should have 
been enabled, for the future, to dispose of the cabinet of St. Petersburg. Our 
enemies were sensible of the danger, and it has been thought that this good- 
will of Paul proved fatal to him. It might well have been the case, for there 
are cabinets with whom nothing is sacred." 

The Emperor had remarked that Bernadotte had scarcely ascended the 
throne of Sweden ere he began to adopt measures inimical to the interests 
of France. The following extracts from a frank and noble letter from Napo- 
leon to Bernadotte, dated Tuileries, August 8, 1811, throw clear light upon 
the generous and comprehensive policy of the Emperor in the celebrated 
Continental system : 

" The right of blockade which England has arrogated to herself is as in- 
jurious to the commerce of Sweden, and as hostile to the interests of her flag, 
as it is injurious to the commerce of the French empire and to the dignity 
of its power. I will even assert that the domineering pretensions of England 
are still more offensive with regard to Sweden, for your commerce is more 
maritime than Continental. The real strength of the kingdom of Sweden 
consists as much in the existence of its navy as in the existence of its 
army. 

" The development of the forces of France is altogether Continental. I 
have been enabled to create within my states an internal trade, which diffuses 

Y 



338 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXII. 

subsistence anil money from the extremities to the centre of the empire, by 
tlie impulse given to agricultural and manufacturing industry, and by the 
rigorous prohibition of foreign productions. This state of things is such that 
it is impossible for me to decide whether French connnerce -would have much 
to gain by peace with England. The maintenance of the decree of Berlin is, 
therefore, more in the interests of Sweden and of Eiu-ope than in the partic- 
ular interests of France. 

" Such are the reasons whicli my ostensible policy may set up against the 
ostensible policy of England. The secret reasons which influence England 
arc the following : She docs not desire peace ; she has rejected all the over- 
tures which I have caused to be made to her ; her connnerce and her terri- 
tory are enlarged by war ; she is apprehensive of restitutions ; she will not 
consolidate the ncAV system by a treaty ; she does not wish that France 
should be powerful. 

*' I wish for peace. I wish for it in its perfect state, because peace alone 
can c'ive soliditv to new interests, and to states created by conquest. I 
think that, on this point, your royal highness ought not to dilfer in opinion 
from me. I have a great number of ships. I have no seamen. I can not 
carry on the contest with England for the purpose of compelling her to make 
peace. Nothing but the Continental system can prove successful. In this 
respect I experience no obstacle on the part of Russia and Prussia. Their 
commerce can only be a gainer by the prohibitive system. 

" Your cabinet is composed of enlightened men. There is dignity and 
patriotism in the Swedish nation. The influence of your royal highness in 
the government is generally approved. You will experience few impediments 
in withdrawing your people from a mercantile submission to a foreign nation. 
Do not sufter yourself to be caught by the too tempting baits which England 
may hold out to you. The future will prove that, whatever may be the rev- 
olutions Avhich time must produce, the sovereigns of Europe Avill establish 
prohibitive laws which ^\■l\\ lea^e them masters in their own dominions, &c. 

" (Signed), Napoleon." 

August 10. The Emperor was quite unwell. He spent the morning upon 
his sofa, reading. At three o'clock he walked out with Las Casas, ordering 
the calash to meet them at an appointed spot. In the morning he had been 
reading the history of Catharine of Russia. 

" She Avas," said he, "• a commanding woman. She Avas worthy of haA'ing 
a beard upon her chin. The catastroplies of Peter and of Paul Avere seraglio 
revolutions, the work of janizaries. These palace soldiers are tenible, and 
dangerous in proportion as the sovereign is absolute. ^ly Imperial Guard 
might also have become fatal under any one but myself. 

" Paul and I Aveve on the best terms together. At the time of his murder, 
I had concerted a plan Avith him for an expedition to India, and I should 
certainly have prevailed upon him to carry it into execution. Paul Avrote to 
me A'ery often, and at great length. His first communication, written Avith 
his OAvn hand, Avas curious and original. 

" ' I do not,' he Avrote, 'discuss the merits of the rights of man ; but Avhen 



1816, August] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 339 

a nation places at its head a man of distinguished merit and worthy of es- 
teem, it has a government, and France has henceforth one in my eyes.' " 

The Emperor, on his return, found Admiral Malcolm and his lady at the 
house. With great affability and kindness, he took them hoth into his car- 
riage, and made another tour of the short ride to which he was limited. He 
then walked for some time with Lady Malcolm, conversing with her in the 
most frank and cheerful manner. 

Sir Hudson Lowe had called while the Emperor was breakfasting in liis 
tent in the morning, but he did not succeed in obtaining an interview. 

August 11. The Emperor breakfasted in his tent. It was a pleasant 
Sabbath morning. "If we were in a Christian country," said he, "we 
should have mass this morning, and that would employ a portion of the day. 
I have been always fond of the sound of the church bells in the country. We 
ought to choose a priest from among ourselves — the curate of St. Helena." 

"But how ordain him," one inquired, "without a bishop?" 

" And am I not one ?" inquired the Emperor. " Have I not been anoint- 
ed with the same oil, consecrated in the same manner ? Were not Clovis 
and his successors anointed at the time with the formula Rex Christique 
sacerdos f Were they not, in fact, real bishops ? Was not the subsequent 
suppression of that formula caused by the jealousy and policy of the bishops 
and popes ?" 

August 13. The Emperor, early in the morning, took a long walk with 
Las Casas. There was in the vicinity of Longwood a valley, where there 
was a spring of cool water and a few trees. Its peculiar silence and solitude, 




VALLEY AT ST. HELENA. 



340 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXII. 

teing mostly surrounded by craggy peaks, and commanding a view of the 
ocean, made it a lavorite resort of the Emperor. Upon his deathbed he re- 
quested that he might be buried in this valley, beneath some weeping-wil- 
lows, should the English government refuse to allow his remains to be re- 
moved to his native land. 

Napeoleon had been, during the morning, reading from recently-received 
files of the Moniteur the debates in the French Chambers. His emotions 
were intensely excited, and, as he walked along, he gave utterance to his 
feelings in glowing yet saddened tones. 

" He reverted sadly," says Las Casas, "to the numerous fatalities which 
had hastened his overthrow ; to the perfidious security caused by his mar- 
riage with Austria ; to the infatuation of the Turks, who made peace with 
Russia precisely at the moment when they ought to have made war ; to the 
treachery of Bernadotte ; to the unseasonable rigor of a Russian winter ; to 
the diplomatic talent of M. Narbonne, who, by discovering the designs of 
Austria, compelled her to take active measures. He alluded to the victories 
of Lutzen and Bautzen, which, by bringing back the King of Saxony to 
Dresden, put Napoleon in possession of the hostile signatures of Austria, and 
deprived lier of all further subterfuge. ' What an unhappy concurrence ! ' 
he exclaimed ; ' and yet, the day after the battle of Dresden, Francis had al- 
ready sent a person to treat. It was necessary that Vandamme's disaster 
should happen at a given moment, to second, as it were, the decree of Fate.' " 

" Talleyrand," continued the Emperor, " strongly urged me to make peace 
on my return from Leipsic. I must do him that justice. He found fault 
with my speech to the Senate, but warmly appi;oved of that which I made to 
the Legislative Body. He uniformly maintained that I deceived myself with 
respect to the eriergy of the nation ; that it would not co-operate with mine, 
and that it was requisite for me to arrange my affiiirs by every possible sac- 
rifice. It appears that he was then sincere. I never, from my own experi- 
ence, found Talleyrand eloquent or persuasive. He dwelt a great deal and a 
long time on the same idea. Perhaps, also, as our acquaintance was of old 
date, he behaved in a peculiar manner to mc. He was, however, so skillful 
in his evasions and ramblings, that, after conversations which lasted several 
hom-s, he has gone away frequently avoiding the explanations and objects 1 
expected to obtain from him on his coming in." 

Returning from this walk, the Emperor breakfasted with his friends in the 
tent. He then read to them several chapters of the Corinne of Sladam de 
Stael. At last, in disgust, he laid the book aside, saying, 

" I can not get through it. ]\Iadam de Stael has drawn so complete a 
likeness of herself in her heroine, that she has succeeded in convincing me 
that it is herself. I see her, I hear her, I feel her, I wish to avoid her, and 
I throw away the book. I had a better impression of this work on my mem- 
ory than what I feel at present. Perhaps it is because, at the time, I read 
it with my thumb, as M. TAbbe de Pradt ingeniously says, and not without 
some trutli. I shall, however, persevere. I am determined to see the end 
of it. I still think that it can not be destitute of some interest. Yet I can 



1816, August.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 341 

not forgive Madam de Stael for having undervalued the French in her ro- 
mance. The family of Madam de Stael is unquestionably a very singular 
one. Her father, her mother, and herself, all three on their knees, regaling 
each other with reciprocal incense, for the better edification and mystification 
of the public. Madam de Stael may, notwithstanding, exult in surpassing 
her noble parents when she presumed to write that her sentiments for her 
father were such that she detected herself in being jealous of her mother. 

"Madam de Stael," he continued, "was ardent in her passions, vehement 
and extravagant in her expressions. This is what was read by the police 
while she was under its superintendence. ' I am far from you' (she was 
probably writing to her husband) ; ' come instantly ; I command, I insist 
upon it. I am on my knees ; my daughter is beside me ; I beseech you, 
come ; if you hesitate, I shall kill her first, and then myself: you alone will 
be guilty of our destruction.' She had combined all her efforts and all her 
means to make an impression on the general of the army of Italy. Without 
any knowledge of him," continued the Emperor, "she vsrrote to him when 
far off, she tormented him when present. If she was to be believed, the 
union of genius with an insignificant little Creole, incapable of appreciating 
or comprehending him, was a monstrosity. Unfortunately, the general's only 
answer was indifference, which women never forgive, and which, indeed, " he 
remarked, with a smile, " is hardly to be forgiven. 

" On his arrival at Paris he was folloAved with the same eagerness, but he 
maintained, on his part, the same reserve, the same silence. Madam de 
StaQl, resolved, however, to extract some words from him, and to struggle with 
the conqueror of Italy, attacked him, face to face, at the grand entertainment 
given by M. de Talleyrand, minister of foreign affairs, to the victorious gen- 
eral. She challenged him, in the midst of a numerous circle, to teU her who 
was the greatest woman in 'the world, dead or living. ' She who has had 
most children,' answered Napoleon, with great simplicity. Madam de Stael 
was at first a little disconcerted, and endeavored to recover herself by ob- 
serving tliat it was reported that he was not very fond of children. ' Par- 
don me, madam,' again replied Napoleon, ' I am very fond of my wife.' 

" I might, no doubt, have excited the enthusiasm of the Genevese Corinne 
to its highest pitch, but I dreaded her political perfidy and her proverbial in- 
temperance. I was, perhaps, in the wrong. The heroine had been too ea- 
ger in her pursuit, and too often discouraged, not to become a violent enemy. 
She instigated the person who was then under her influence, and he did not 
enter upon the business in a very honorable manner. On the appointment 
of the Tribunate, he employed the most pressing solicitations with me to be 
nominated a member. At eleven o'clock at night he was on his knees ; but 
at midnight, when the favor was granted, he was already erect, and almost in 
an insulting attitude. The first meeting of the Tribunes was a splendid oc- 
casion for his invective against me. At night. Madam de Stael's hotel was 
illuminated. She crowned her Benjamin in the middle of a brilliant assem- 
bly, and proclaimed him a second Mirabeau. This farce, which was ridicu- 
lous enough, was followed by more dangerous plans. At the time of the Con- 



342 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXIIL 

cordat, against wliicli Madam de Stael was violently inflamed, she united at 
once against me the aristocrats and the Republicans. 'You have,' she ex- 
claimed, ' but a single moment left. To-morrow the tyrant will have forty 
thousand priests at his disposal.' 

"Madam de Stael, having at length tired out my patience, was sent into 
exile. Her father had seriously offended me before, at the time of the cam- 
paign of Marengo. I wished to see him on my way, and he strack me mere- 
ly as a dull, bloated pedant. Shortly afterward, no doubt with the hope of 
appearing again in public life by my help, he published a pamphlet, in which 
he proved that France could neither be a republic nor a monarchy. What it 
might be was not sufficiently evident from his book. In it he called the 
First Consul the necessary man. Lebrun replied to him in a letter of four 
pages, in his admirable style, and with all his powers of sarcasm. He asked 
him whether he had not done sufficient mischief to France, and whether his 
pretensions to govern her again were not exhausted by his experiment of the 
Constituent Assembly. 

" Madam de Stael, in her disgrace, carried on hostilities with the one hand 
and supplicated with the other. She was informed, on my part, that I left 
her the universe for the theatre of her achievements ; that I resigned the rest 
of the world to her, and only reserved Paris for myself, which I forbade her 
to approach. But Paris was precisely the object of her wishes. No matter; 
I was invariably inflexible. She occasionally renewed her attempts. Un- 
der the empire, she wished to be lady of the palace. Yes or no might cer- 
tainly be pronounced ; but by what means could Madam de Stael be 'kept 
quiet in a palace ?" 

"After dinner," says Las Casas, " the Emperor read the Horatii, and was 
frequently interrupted by our bursts of admiration. Never did Comeille ap- 
pear grander, more noble, more nervous to us than on our rock," 



CHAPTER XXIIL 

1816, August, Continued. 



Avoiding the Governor — The Emperor's Birth-day — Present from Lord Holland — Remarks on Re- 
ligion — Angry Interview with the Governor — Regrets of the Emperor — Libels — General Sarraz- 
zin — The Hypocrite — ^Threats of Sir Hudson Lowe. 

August 14. The Emperor breakfasted in his tent, and remained there 
Avith his companions, revising his dictations upon the Campaign of Italy. It 
was announced to him that the governor was ajjproaching Longwood. He 
immediately retired from the tent to his chamber to avoid an interview. 

"I am determined," said he, "to have no more to do with Sir Hudson 
Lowe. Harsh remarks escape me, which affect my character and my dignity. 
Nothing should fall from my lips but what is kind and complimentary." 

The governor expressed an earnest desire to see his prisoner, but the Em- 
peror retired to his bath, and avoided the pain of an audience. After the 
governor had returned to Plantation House, the Emperor, suffering from a 



1816, August] RESIDENCE AT LONG WOOD. 343 

severe headache, decided to ride out on horseback. He had not mounted his 
horse for eight weeks. 

" The limits are so circumscribed," he said to Dr. O'Meara, who had per- 
suaded him to ride out, " that I can not ride more than an hour ; but, in or- 
der to do me any good, I should ride very hard for three or four hours. 
Here has been, this morning, that Sicilian constable. I should have re- 
mained in the tent an hour longer if I had not been informed of his arrival. 
My mind recoils from seeing him. He is perpetually unquiet, and appears 
always in a passion with somebody, or uneasy, is if something tormented his 
conscience, and that he was anxious to run away from himself. A man to 
be well fitted for the governor of St. Helena ought to be a person of great 
politeness, and, at the same time, of great firmness ; one who could gloss over 
a refusal, and lessen the miseries of the persons detained, instead of eternally 
putting them in mind that they were considered as prisoners. Instead of 
such, they have sent' out a man not known, who has never had command, 
who has neither regularity nor system, who can not make himself obeyed, 
who has no breeding nor civility, and who seems to have always associated 
with thieves." 

At dinner, some one remarked that it was the eve of the 15th of August, 
the Emperor's birth-day. Napoleon remarked, " Many healths will be drunk 
to-morrow in Europe to St. Helena. There are certainly some friendly sen- 
timents, some kind wishes which will traverse the ocean." 

August 15. The Emperor's companions had aiTanged to wait upon him in 
a body at eleven o'clock, with their afiectionate greetings on his birth-day ; 
but the Emperor anticipated them by calling at their rooms at nine o'clock, 
and in cheerful spirits inviting them all to breakfast with him in the large 
and beautiful tent, which he found to be so valuable an acquisition. He said 
that he wished to pass the whole day with them. They accordingly contin- 
ued together in walking, riding, conversation, reading, and other congenial 
pursuits. In the evening, the servants, including the English, had a grand 
supper and a dance. "To the astonishment of the French," says Dr. O'Mea- 
ra, "not a single Englishman got drunk." 

August 16. At a very early hour in the morning the Emperor went to his 
tent, where he met Las Casas and his son. He dictated to them until two 
o'clock, they breakfasting with him. As he was busily engaged in his work, 
it was announced that the governor was approaching. The Emperor, to avoid 
him, immediately retired to his chamber, exclaiming, "The wretch, I beKeve, 
envies me the very air I breathe ! " 

The governor, not being able to see the Emperor without palpable intru- 
sion, held a long conversation with Montholon and O'Meara upon the object 
of his visit. He complained bitterly of the expenses of Longwood, and urged 
that common salt, instead of table salt, should be made use of at the table of 
the servants. 

Lord Holland, who, with his lady, cherished a very high respect for the 
outraged Emperor, sent to him one of Leslie's pneumatic machines for mak- 
ing ice. Admiral Malcolm took great pleasure in delivering it to the Em- 



344 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXIII. 

peror. The machine was put up in one of the rooms, and the Emperor, with 
the admiral and several of the gentlemen of Longwood, witnessed the suc- 
cessful experiment of freezing water beneath the sun of the tropics. Napo- 
leon and the admiral then took a friendly walk together, engaging in conver- 
sation upon a great variety of topics. 

August 17. Though the wind hlew a gale, accompanied hy occasional 
showers, the Emperor breakfasted in his tent. The wetness, however, soon 
obliged him to retire to his room. He read to his friends Zai?'e and (Edi- 
pu8. The conversation then turned upon priests and rehgion. This led the 
Emperor to the following remarkable observations : 

"Man, entering into life, asks himself. From whence do I come? What 
am I? Whither am I to go? These are so many mysterious questions 
which urge us on to religion. We eagerly embrace it ; we are attracted by 
our natural propensity ; but, as we advance in knowledge, our course is stop- 
ped. Instruction and history are the two great enemies of religion, deformed 
by human imperfection. Why, we ask ourselves, is the religion of Paris 
neither that of London nor of Berlin ? Why is that of Petersburg different 
from that of Constantinople ? Why is the latter different from that of Persia, 
of the Ganges, and of China ? Why is the religion of ancient times differ- 
ent from that of our days ? Then reason is sadly staggered ; it exclaims, 
() religions ! religions ! the children of man ! We very properly believe in 
God, because every thing around us proclaims him, and the most enlightened 
minds have believed in him — not only Bossuet, whose profession it was, but 
also Newton and Leibnitz, who had nothing to do with it. But we know not 
what to think of the doctrine that is taught us, and we find ourselves like 
the watch, which goes without knowing the watchmaker that made it. And 
observe a Httle the stupidity of those who educate us. They should keep 
away from us the idea of paganism and idolatry, because their absurdity ex- 
cites the first exercise of our reason, and prepares us for a resistance to pass- 
ive belief. They bring us up, notwithstanding, in the midst of the Greeks 
and Romans, with their mp'iads of divinities. Such, for my own part, has 
hterally been the progress of my understanding. I felt the necessity of be- 
lief. I did believe, but my belief was shocked and undecided the moment I 
acquired knowledge and began to reason, and that happened to me at so early 
an age as thirteen. Perhaps I shall again believe implicitly. God grant I 
may. I shall certainly make no resistance, and I do not ask a greater bless- 
ing. It must, in my mind, be a great and real happiness. 

" In violent agitations, however, and in the casual suggestions of immoral- 
ity itself, the absence of that religious faith has never, I assert, influenced me 
in any respect. And I never doubted the existence of God ; for, if my reason 
was inadequate to comprehend it, my mind was not the less disposed to adopt 
it. My nerves were in sympathy with that sentiment. 

" When I seized on the helm of affairs, I had already fixed ideas of all the 
primary elements by which society is bound together. I had weighed all 
the importance of religion. I was convinced, and I determined to re-estab- 
lish it ; but the resistance I had to overcome in restoring Catholicism would 



1816, August.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 345 

scarcely be credited. I should have been more willingly followed had I 
hoisted the standard of Protestantism. This reluctance was carried so far, 
that in the Council of State, where I found great difficulty in getting the 
Concordat adopted, several yielded only while forming a plan to extricate 
themselves from it. 'Well,' they said to one another, 'let us turn Protest- 
ants, and that will not affect us.' 

" It is unquestionable that, in the disorder to which I succeeded, on the 
ruins where I was placed, I was at liberty to choose between Catholicism and 
Protestantism. And it may also be said, with truth, that the general dispo- 
sition at the moment was quite in favor of the latter ; but, besides my real 
adherence to the religion in which I was born, I had the most important mo- 
tives to influence my decision. What should I have gained by proclaiming 
Protestantism ? I should have created two great parties very nearly eqi\al 
in France, when I wished for the existence of none at all. I should have 
revived the fury of religious disputes, when their total annihilation was call- 
ed for by the light of the century and my own feelings. These two parties 
would have destroyed France by their mutual distractions, and rendered her 
the slave of Europe, when I had the ambition to make her the mistress of it. 
By the help of Catholicism, I attained, much more effectually, all the grand 
results I had in view. In the interior, at home, the smaller number was 
swallowed up by the greater, and I relied upon my treating the former with 
such an equality that there would be shortly no motive for marking the dif- 
ference. Abroad, the Pope was bound to me by Catholicism, and with my in- 
fluence, and our forces in Italy, I did not despair, sooner or later, by some 
means or another, of obtaining for myself the direction of that Pope, and from 
that time, what an influence ! What a lever of opinion on the rest of the 
world ! 

" Francis I. was really in a state to adopt Protestantism at its birth, and 
declare himself the head of it in Europe. Charles Y., his rival, was the zeal- 
ous champion of Rome, because he considered that measure as an additional 
means to assist him in his project of enslaving Europe. Was not that cir- 
cumstance alone sufficient to point out to Francis the necessity of taking 
care of his independence ? But he abandoned the greater to run after the 
lesser advantage. He persevered in pursuing his imprudent designs on Italy, 
and, with the intention of paying court to the Pope, he burned Protestants at 
Paris. Had Francis I. embraced Lutheranism, which is favorable to royal 
supremacy, he would have preserved France from the dreadful religious con- 
vulsions brought on at later periods by the Calvinists, whose efforts, alto- 
gether Republican, were on the point of subverting the throne and dissolving 
our noble monarchy. Unfortunately, Francis I. was ignorant of all that, for 
he could not allege his scruples for an excuse — he Avho entered into an alli- 
ance with the Turks, and brought them into the midst of us. It was pre- 
cisely because he was incapable of extending his views so far. The folly of 
the time ! The extent of feudal intellect ! Francis I., after all, was but a 
liero for tilts and tournaments, and a gallant for the drawing-room ; one of 
those pigmy great men. 



346 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXIII. 

"De Yoisin, the Bishop of Nantes," said the Emperor, "made me a real 
CathoHc by the efficacy of his arguments, by the excellence of his morals, 
and by his enlig-htened toleration. Maria Louisa, whose confessor he was, 
consulted him once on the obligation of abstaining from meat on Fridays. 

" ' At what table do you dine ?' asked the bishop. 

'"At the Emperor's.' 

" ' Do you give all the orders there V 

"'No.' 

" ' You can not, then, make any alteration in it ; would he do it himself?' 

" 'I am inclined to think not.' 

" ' Be obedient, then, and do not provoke a subject for scandal. Your first 
duty is to obey, and make him respected ; you will not be in want of other 
means to amend your life, and to suffer privations in the eyes of God.' 

" He also behaved in the same way with respect to a public communion 
which some persons put into Maria Louisa's Iiead to celebrate on Easter day. 
She would not consent without the advice of her prudent confessor, who dis- 
suaded her from it by similar arguments. What a difference liad she been 
worked upon by a fanatic ! What quai-rels, what disagreements might he 
not have caused between us ! What mischief might he not have done in the 
circumstances in which I was placed ! 

" The Bishop of Nantes had lived with Diderot in the midst of unbelievers, 
and had uniformly conducted himself with consistency. He was ready with 
an answer to every one, and, above all, he had the good sense to abandon 
every thing that was not maintainable, and to strip religion of every thing 
which he might not be capable of defending. He was asked, 

" ' Has not an animal, which moves, combines, and thinks, a soul?' 

" ' Why not ?' was his answer. 

" 'But whither does it go? for it is not equal to ours.' 

" 'What is that to you? It dwells, perhaps, in limbo.' 

" He used to retreat within the last intrenchments, even within the for- 
tress itself, and there he reserved excellent means of defending himself. He 
argued better than the Pope, whom he often confounded. He was the firm- 
est pillar, among the bishops, of the Galilean liberties. He was my oracle, 
my luminary ; in religious matters he possessed my unbounded confidence ; 
for, in my quan-els with the Pope, it was my first care, whatever intriguers 
and marplots in cassocks may say, not to touch upon any dog-matic point. 
I was so steady in this conduct, that the instant this good and venerable 
Bishop of Nantes said to me, ' Take care ! there you are grappling with a dog- 
ma,' I immediately turned off from the course I was taking to return to it by 
other ways, without amusing myself by entering into dissertations with him, 
or by seeking even to comprehend his meaning ; and as I had not let him 
into my secret, how amazed must he not have been at the circuits I made ! 
How whimsical, obstinate, capricious, and incoherent must I not have ap- 
peared to him ! It was because I had an object in view, and he was unac- 
quainted with it. 

" TIic popes could not forgive our liberties of the Galilean Church. The 



1816, August.] RESIDExNCE AT LONGWOOD. 347 

four famous propositions of Bossuet, in particular, provoked their resentment. 
It was a real hostile manifesto, in their opinion, and they accordingly consid- 
ered us at least as much out of the pale of the Church as the Protestants. 
They thought us as guilty as them, perhaps more so, and if they did not 
overwhelm us with their ostensive thunders, it was because they dreaded the 
consequences — our separation. The example of England was before them. 
They did not wish to cut off their right arm with their own hand, but they 
were constantly on the watch for a favorable opportunity; they trusted to 
time for it. No doubt they are on the point of believing that it has now ac- 
tually happened. They will be again disappointed, however, by the light of 
the century and the manners of the times. 

" Some time before my coronation, the Pope wished to see me, and made 
it a point to visit me himself. He had made many concessions. He had 
come to Paris for the purpose of crowning me ; he consented not to place the 
crown on my head ;* he dispensed with the ceremony of the public commun- 
ion. He had, therefore, in his opinion, many compensations to expect in re- 
turn. He had, accordingly, at first dreamed of Romagna and the Legations, 
and he began to suspect that he should be obliged to give up all that. He 
then lowered his pretensions to a very trifling favor, as he called it — my sig- 
nature to an ancient document — a worn-out rag — which he held from Louis 
XIV. ' Do me that favor,' said he ; ' in fact, it signifies nothing.' ' Cheer- 
fully, most holy father, and the thing is done, if it be feasible.' It was, how- 
ever, a declaration, in which Louis XI Y., at the close of his life, seduced by 
Madam Maintenon, or prevailed upon by his confessors, expressed his disap- 
probation of the celebrated Articles of 1682, the foundations of the liberties 
of the Galilean Church. I replied that I had not, for my own part, any per- 
sonal objection, but that it was requisite for me, as a matter of form, to speak 
to the bishops about it ; on which the Pope repeatedly observed that such a 
communication was by no means necessary, and that the thing did not de- 
serve to make so much noise. ' I shall never,' he remarked, ' show the sig- 
nature ; it shaU be kept as secret as that of Louis XIV.' ' But if it signifies 
nothing,' said I, ' what use is there for my signature ? And if any significa- 
tion can be drawn from it, I am bound, by a sense of propriety, to consult my 
doctors.' " 

" The Bishop of Nantes and the other bishops, who were really French, 
came to me in great haste. They were furious, and watched me as they 
would have watched Louis XIV. on his deathbed to prevent him from turn- 
ing Protestant. The Sulpicians were called in ; they were Jesuits on a 
small scale ; they strove to find out my intention, and were ready to do 
whatever I wished. The Pope had dispensed with the public communion in 
my favor, and it is by his determination in that respect that I form my opin- 
ion of the sincerity of his religious belief. He had held a congregation of 
cardinals for the purpose of settling the ceremonial. The greater number 
warmly insisted on my taking the communion in public, asserting the great 

* It -will be remembered that Napoleon took the crown and placed it on his own head, and then 
crowned Josephine. 



348 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[ClIAP. XXIII. 




^!f 






'V // i' 




THE COKONATION. 



influence of the example on tlic people, and the necessity of my holding it 
out. The Pope, on the contrary, fearful lest I should fulfill that duty as if 
I were going through one of the articles of ]\I. do Segtir".-- progranune, looked 
upon it as a sacrilege, and was inflexible in opposing it. 

" 'Napoleon,' said he, 'is not, perhaps, a believer; tlie time will come, no 
doubt, in which his faith will be established, and, in the mean time, let us 
not burden his conscience or our own.' " 

" In his Christian charity, for he really is a worthy, mild, and excellent 
man, he never once despaired of seeing me a penitent at his tribunal. He 
has often let his hopes and thoughts on that subject escape him. AVe some- 
times conversed about it in a pleasant and friendly manner. 



1816, Auo-ust.l RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 349 

" ' It will happen to you sooner or later,' said he, 'with an innocent ten- 
derness of expression. ' You will be converted by me or by others, and you 
will then feel how great the content, the satisfaction of your own heart.' 

"In the mean time, my influence over him was such, that I drew from 
him, by the mere power of my conversation, that famous Concordat of Fon- 
tainebleau, in which he renounced the temporal sovereignty — an act, on ac- 
count of which he has since shown that he dreaded the judgment of posteri- 
ty, or, rather, the reprobation of his successors. He had no sooner signed 
than he felt the stings of repentance. He was to have dined the following 
day with me in public, but at night he was, or joretended to be, ill. The 
truth is, that, immediately after I left him, he again fell into the hands of his 
habitual advisers, who drew a terrible picture of the error he had committed. 
Had we been left by ourselves, I might have done what I pleased with him. 
I should have governed the religious with the same facihty that I did the 
political world. He was, in truth, a lamb, a good man in every respect — a 
man of real worth, whom I esteem and love greatly, and who, on his part, I 
am convinced, is not altogether destitute of interest with regard to me."* 

" You will not see him make any severe complaints against me, nor pre- 
fer, in particular, any direct or personal accusation against me more than the 
other sovereigns. There may, perhaps, be some vague and vulgar declama- 
tions against ambition and bad faith, but nothing positive and direct, because 
statesmen are Avell aware that, when the hour of libels is past, no one would 
be allowed to prefer a public accusation without corroborative proofs, and 
they have none of these to produce ; such will be the province of history. 
On the other hand, there will, at most, be some wretched chroniclers shallow 
enough to take the ravings of clubs or intrigues for authentic facts, or some 
writers of memoirs, who, deceived by the errors of the moment, will be dead 
before they are enabled to correct their mistakes. 

' ' When the real particulars of my disputes with the Pope shall be made 
public, the world will be surprised at the extent of my patience, for it is 
known that I was not of a very enduring temper. When he left me after 
my coronation, he felt a secret disgust at not having obtained the compensa- 
tions he thought he had deserved. But, however grateful I might have been 
in other respects, I could not, after all, make a traffic of the interests of the 
empire by way of acquitting my own obligations, and I was too proud to 
exhibit a seeming acknowledgment that I had purchased his kindnesses. He 
had hardly set his foot on the soil of Italy when the intriguers and mischief- 
makers, the enemies of France, took advantage of the disposition he Avas in to 
govern his conduct, and from that instant every thing was hostile on his part. 
He no longer was the gentle, the peaceful Chiaramonti, that worthy bishop 

* " I am acquainted with Pope Pius VII. During his journey to Paris in 1804, and since then, 
even till his death, I have not ceased to receive from that venerable pontiff proofs not only of kind- 
ness, but even of confidence and affection. Since the year 1814 I have resided at Rome. I have, 
had frequent occasions to see the Pope, and I can affirm that, in the greater number of my inter- 
views with his holiness, he has assured me that he had been treated by the Emperor with all the 
personal regard which he could desire." — Rcponse a Sir Walter Scott, sur son Histoire de Kapo- 
ko)i, par Louis Bonaparte, frere de I'Empcreur. 



350 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXIII. 

of Imola, who had, at so early a period, shown himself worthy of the enlight- 
ened state of the centmy. His signature was thenceforth atfixed to acts only 
which characterized the Gregories and Bonifaces more than him. Rome be- 
came the focus of all the plots hatched against us. I strove in vain to bring 
him back by the force of reason, but I found it impossible to ascertain his 
sentiments. Our wrongs became so serious, and the insults offered to us 
were so ostensible, that I was imperiously called upon to act in my turn. I 
therefore seized upon his fortresses, I took possession of some provinces, and 
I finished by occupying Rome itself, at the same time declaring and strictly 
observing that I held him sacred in his spiritual capacity, which was far from 
being satisfactory to him. 

" A crisis, however, presented itself. It was believed that Fortune had 
abandoned me at Essling, and measures were in immediate readiness for ex- 
citing the population of that great capital to insurrection. The officer who 
commanded there thought that he could escape the danger only by getting 
rid of the Pope, whom he sent forward on his journey to France. That 
measure was carried into effect without my orders, and was even in direct 
opposition to my views. I dispatched orders for stopping the Pope wher- 
ever he might be met with, and he was kept at Savona, Avhere he was treated 
with every possible care and attention ; for I wished to make myself feared, 
but not to ill-treat him ; to bend him to my views, not to degrade him. I en- 
tertained very different projects. This removal served only to inflame the 
spirit of resentment and intrigue. Until then, the quarrel had been but tem- 
poral. The Pope's advisers, in the hope of re-establishing their affairs, in- 
volved it in all the jumble of spirituality. I then found it necessary to car- 
ry On the contest with him on that head. I had my council of conscience, 
my ecclesiastical councils, and I invested my imperial courts with the power 
of deciding in cases of appeal from abuses, for my soldiers could be of no 
further use in all this. I felt it necessary to fight the Pope Avith his own 
weapons. To his men of erudition, to his sophists, his civilians, and his 
scribes, it was incumbent on me to oppose mine. 

" An English plot was laid to carry him off from Savona. It Avas of serv- 
ice to me. I caused him to be removed to Fontaine bleau ; but that was to 
be the period of his sufferings and the regeneration of his splendor. All my 
grand views were accomplished in disguise and mystery. I had brought 
things to such a point as to render the development infallible, without any 
execration, and in a way altogether natural. It was accordingly consecrated 
by the Pope in the famous Concordat of Fontainebleau, in spite even of my 
disasters at Moscow. What, then, would have been the result, had I re- 
turned victorious and triumphant? I should have consequently obtained 
the separation, which was so desirable, of the spiritual from the temporal, 
which is so injurious to his holiness, and the commixture of which produces 
disorder in society, in the name and by the hands of him Avho ought himself 
to be the centre of harmony; and from that time I intended to exalt the 
Pope beyond measure, to surround him with grandeur and honors. I should 
have succeeded in suppressing all his anxiety for the loss of his temporal pow- 



1816, August] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 35I 

er ; I should have made an idol of him ; he would have remained near my 
person. Paris would have become the capital of Christendom, and I should 
have governed the religious as well as the political world. It was an addi- 
tional means of Ibinding tighter all the federative parts of the empire, and of 
preserving the tranquillity of every thing placed without it. * I should have 
had my religious as weU as my legislative sessions ; my councils would have 
constituted the representation of Christianity, and the Popes would have only 
been the presidents. I should have called together and dissolved those as- 
semblies, approved and published their discussions, as Constantine and Charle- 
magne had done ; and if that supremacy had escaped the Emperors, it was 
because they had committed the fault of letting the spiritual heads reside at 
a remote distance from them, who took advantage of the weakness of the 
princes, or of the critical events, to shake off their dependence, and enslave 
them in their turn. 

" But to accomplish that object, I had found it requisite to maneuver 
with a great deal of dexterity ; above all, to conceal my real way of thinking, 
to give a direction altogether different to general opinion, and to feed the pub- 
lic with vulgar trifles for the purpose of more effectually concealing the im- 
portance and depth of my secret design. I accordingly experienced a kind 
of satisfaction in finding myself accused of barbarity toward the Pope, and 
of tyranny in religious matters. Foreigners, in particular, promoted my wish- 
es in this respect, by filling their wretched libels with invectives against my 
pitiful ambition, which, according to them, had driven me to devour the mis- 
erable patrimony of St. Peter, But I was perfectly aware that public opin- 
ion would again declare itself in my favor at home, and that no means could 
exist abroad for disconcerting my plan. What measures would not have 
been employed for its prevention, had it been anticipated at a seasonable pe- 
riod ! for how vast its future ascendency over all Catholic countries, and how 
great its influence even upon those that are not so, by the co-operation of the 
members of that religion who are spread throughout these countries ! 

" This deliverance from the coiu't of Pome, this legal union, the control 
of religion in the hands of the sovereign, had been the constant object of my 
meditations and my wishes for a long time. England, Pussia, the northern 
crowns, and part of Germany, are in possession of it. Yenice and IsTaples 
have enjoyed it. jSTo government can be carried on without it ; a nation is, 
otherwise, affected in its tranquillity, its dignity, and its independence every 
instant. But the task of obtaining it was very difficult. At every step I 
was alive to the danger. I was induced to think that, once engaged in it, I 
should be abandoned by the nation. I more than once sounded and strove 
to elicit public opinion, but in vain ; and I have been enabled to convince my- 
self that I never should have had the national co-operation." 

Atcgust 18. A stormy night was succeeded by a dull and melancholy day. 
About three o'clock in the afternoon the weather cleared up a little, and the 
Emperor walked out with Las Casas and Madam Montholon. As they were 
engaged in very cheerful conversation, the approach of the governor was an- 
nounced. The Emperor was in feeble health ; his nerves were irritated ; his 



352 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXIII. 

pride of character was stung to the quick by outrages and insults, and he 
could not endure the sight of his detested jailer. Knowing that lie could not, 
under the circumstances, command his passions, and that he did but wound 
his own selt-respect by giving vent to his unavailing indignation, he was 
anxious to avoid an interview. He accordingly hastily retired, with his 
friends, to a small grove at some distance from the house. 

In a few moments Count IMontholon came and acquainted the Emperor 
that the governor and the admiral were at the house, and earnestly requested 
the honor of speaking to him on business of importance. He consequently 
returned to the garden, where he received them. Admiral INIalcolm gener- 
ously attempted the part of mediator, and endeavored favorably to explain 
the intentions of the governor. The Emperor, addressing himself to the ad- 
miral, observed, 

" The faults of Sir Hudson Lowe proceed from his habits of life. He has 
never had the command of any but foreign deserters — of Piedmontese, Corsi- 
cans, and Sicilians, all renegades and traitors to their country — the dregs and 
scum of Europe. If he had commanded Englishmen, if he were one himself, 
he would show respect to those who have a right to be honored." 

Sir Hudson Lowe remarked that General Bertrand had insulted him. " It 
is obvious, after this," the governor continued, " that I can have no further 
communication with General Bertrand. I wish, in consequence, to learn with 
whom it is your desire I should in future communicate on questions in re- 
gard to your affairs. General Bonaparte," continues Sir Hudson, in his offi- 
cial account of the interview, "made no reply for so considerable a time that 
I thought that he did not mean to speak at all." 

At length the Emperor, still disdaining to address the governor, and di- 
recting his remarks to the admiral, exclaimed, in suppressed tones of indig- 
nation, 

" General Bertrand is a man who has commanded armies, and he treats 
him as if he were a corporal. General Bertrand is a man well known through- 
out Europe, and he has no right to insult him. He treats us all as if we 
were deserters from the royal Corsican or some Italian regiment. He has 
insulted ]\Iarslial Bertrand, and he deserved what the marshal said in reply. 
There ai*e two kinds of people employed by governments — tliose whom they 
honor and those whom they dishonor. He is one of the latter. The situa- 
tion they have given him is that of an executioner. There is a moral cour- 
age as necessary as courage in the field of battle. M. Lowe does not exer- 
cise it here in regard to us, in dreaming only of our escape, rather than in 
employing the only real, prudent, reasonable, and sensible means for prevent- 
ing it. Though my body is in the hands of evil-minded men, my soul is as 
lofty and independent as when at the head of four hundred thousand men, or 
when, on the throne, I disposed of kingdoms." 

The governor defended himself as best he could, and introduced the sub- 
ject of the expenses of Longwood, and the necessity either of a reduction or 
that the Emperor should pay from his own funds all excess over forty thou- 
sand dollars a year. 



1816, August.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. ' 353 

" All these details," the Emperor exclaimed, replying to the governor, but 
addressing himself to the admiral, " are verj painful to me. They are mean. 
You might place me on the burning pile of Montezuma or Guatimozin with- 
out extracting from me the gold, which I do not possess. Besides, who asks 
you for any thing ? Who entreats you to feed me ? When you discontinue 
your supply of provisions, those brave soldiers whom you see there," point- 
ing to the camp of the 53d, " will take pity on me. I shall go and place 
myself at the grenadiers' table, and they will not, I am confident, drive away 
the first, the oldest soldier of Europe. 

"Sir Hudson Lowe," the Emperor continued, "knows not how to treat 
men of honor. He has insulted General Bertrand, and put him under arrest 
in his own house. He has rendered my situation forty times worse than it 
was before his arrival. I can not even write a polite note to my Lady ]\Ial- 
colm without his seeing it. Not even a lady can call on me without his per- 
mission. I can not see the officers of the 53d regiment. He refused to de- 
liver a book sent to me by a member of Parliament. He has no feeling. 
Even the soldiers of the 53d look upon me with compassion, and weep as 
they pass me." 

Here the governor interrupted with denials and explanations. " I detained 
the book," said the governor, "because it was addressed to the £'mpero7\" 

"And who," replied the Emperor, with indignant emotion, "gave you the 
right of disputing that title ? In a few years your Lord Castlereagh, your 
Lord Bathurst, and all the others, you who speak to me, will be buried in 
the dust of oblivion ; or, if your names be remembered, it will be only on ac- 
count of the indignity with which you have treated me ; but the Emperor 
Napoleon shall doubtless continue forever the subject, the ornament of his- 
tory, and the star of civilized nations. Your libels are of no avail against 
me. You have expended millions on them. What have they produced? 
Truth pierces through the clouds ; it shines like the sun, and, like it, is im- 
perishable." 

"He was continuing in this strain," says Sir LIudson Lowe, "when I in- 
terrupted him with saying, with a tone indicative of the sentiments which I 
felt, ' You make me smile, sir. Your misconception of my character and 
the rudeness of your manners excite my pity. I wish you good-day.' And 
I left him without any other salutation. The admiral quitted him immedi- 
ately afterward with a salute of the hat." 

After this interview the Emperor was much mortified in reflecting upon 
his own violence and want of self-control. His friends were sufficiently 
near to observe the party, but not to overhear what was said. The Em- 
peror, in giving an account of the interview to them, severely condemned 
himself. 

" I repeatedly," said he, " during this conversation, seriously offended Sir 
Hudson Lowe. I must also do him the justice to acknowledge that he did 
not precisely show, in a single instance, any want of respect. He contented 
himself with muttering between his teeth sentences which were not audible. 
The only failure, perhaps, on the part of the govern6r, and which was trifling 

Z 



354 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXIII. 

compared with the treatment he received, was the abrupt way in which he 
retired. 

" After all, I must reproach myself with that scene. I must see this offi- 
^;er no more. He makes me fly into a violent passion. It is beneath my 
dignity. Expressions escape me which would have been unpardonable at 
the Tuileries. If they can at all be excused here, it is because I am in his 
hands and subject to his power." 

August 19. The weather continued most dismal. A tornado swept over 
the gloomy rock, which was deluged with floods of rain. The Emperor, not 
being able to go out, called at the apartment of I^as Casas. As he was leav- 
ing the room, he struck his ankle against a projecting nail, which tore his 
stocking and scratched his skin. Playfully the Emperor remarked, 

" You owe me a pair of stockings. A polite man does not expose his vis- 
itors to such dangers in his apartments. You are lodged too mitch like a 
seaman. It is true that it is not your fault. I thought myself careless about 
these matters, but you actually surpass me." 

About ten o'clock it cleared up for a moment, and the Emperor walked 
into the garden. As he approached the spot Avhich was the scene of the pain- 
ful interview with the governor the previous day, he again reverted to it, re- 
proaching himself with the violence of his expressions. 

"I am sorry," said he, "that I lost my temper so much. During the 
Avholc time I was on the throne of France, I never was in such a passion. 
[ never made use of such language to any one before. I have lowered my- 
self by it. It would have been more worthy of me, finer and greater, to have 
expressed all these things with composure. They would, besides, have been 
more impressive. I recollect, in particular, a name which escaped me against 
M. Lowe, an officer's scribe, which must have shocked him, and the more so 
because it described the truth, and that, we know, is always offensive. 

" I have myself experienced that feeling iu the island of Elba. When I 
ran over the most infamous libels, they did not affect me even in the slight- 
est manner. When I read that I had strangled, poisoned, ravished, that ] 
had massacred my sick, that my carriage had been driven over my wounded, 
[ smiled out of commiseration ; but when there was a slight approach to 
truth, the effect was no longer the same. I felt the necessity of defending 
myself. I accumulated reasons for my justification ; and even then, it never 
happened that I was left without some traces of a secret torment. My dear 
Las Casas, this is man." 

The Emperor had received from Sir Hudson Lowe the treaty of the 2d of 
August, 1815, in which the four great powers of Europe combined to op- 
press one single man. To this document he dictated an exceedingly power- 
ful and eloquent protest. In this protest, alluding to the insulting declara- 
tion by the English ministers that he was a usurper, and that popular suf- 
ti-age could not confer upon him the dignity of l^huperor, he refeiTcd to the 
negotiations at Paris and at Chatillon, in which the English government had 
acknowledged the imperial title. He, however, in tliis protest, made no ref- 
f-rence to the treaty of Eontainebleau at the time of his second abdication, in 



1816, August.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 355 

which his lawful sovereignty was still more emphatically admitted. Las 
Casas ventured to allude to this apparently inadvertent omission. 

" It was," the Emperor replied quickly, " done on purpose. I have noth- 
ing to do with that treaty. I am ashamed of it. I disclaim it. It was dis- 
cussed for me by others, and I was betrayed. If I had then been willing 
to enter into a reasonable treaty, I should have obtained either the kingdom 
of Italy, Tuscany, or Corsica. My decision was the result of a fault inher- 
ent in my character, a caprice on my part, a real constitutional excess. I 
was seized with disgust of every thing around me. I took pleasure in bidding 
defiance to Fortune. I cast my eye on a spot of land where I might be un- 
comfortable, and where I could take advantage of the mistakes which might 
be made ; I fixed on the island of Elba. It was the act of a soul of rock» 
I am, no doubt, my dear Las Casas, of a very singular disposition ; but we 
should not be extraordinary were we not of a peculiar mould. I am a piece 
of rock launched into space. You will not, perhaps, easily believe me, but I 
do not regret my departed grandeur. You see me slightly affected by what 
I have lost." 

Notwithstanding the storm, the Emperor ordered breakfast in his tent. 
The water did not penetrate the canvas, but the squalls of wind and rain 
whistled fiercely around, sweeping sheets of mist sublimely through the val- 
ley. The Emperor gazed for a time upon the sombre yet imposing specta- 
cle, and about two o'clock retired to his room. 

After dinner the Emperor read to his assembled friends The Hypocrite, 
by Moliere. Laying down the book, he said, 

" The whole of The Hypocrite is unquestionably finished with the hand 
of a master. It is one of the chefs cCmuvre of an inimitable writer. The 
piece is, however, of such a character, that I am not surprised that its repre- 
sentation should have been the subject of much discussion at Versailles, and 
of a great deal of hesitation on the part of Louis XIV. If I have a right to 
be astonished at any thing, it is at his allowing it to be performed. It pre- 
sents, in my view, religion under colors so odious \ a certain scene presents 
a situation so decisive, so exceedingly immodest, that, for my own part, I do 
not hesitate to say, that if the comedy had been written in my time, I would 
not have allowed it to be represented." 

August 22. Sir Hudson Lowe sent for Dr„ O'Meara to call upon him at 
Plantation House. At the close of a long conversation, in which he com- 
plained bitterly of his intractable prisoner, he said, 

" General Bonaparte had better reflect on his situation, for it is in my pow- 
er to render him much more uncomfortable than he is. He is a prisoner of 
war, and I have a right to treat him according to his conduct. I'll build him 
up. Tell General Bonaparte that he had better take care what he does. He 
has been the cause of the loss of the lives of millions of men, and may be 
again if he gets loose, I consider Ali Pacha to be a much more respectable 
scoundrel than Bonaparte." 



356 ' NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXIV. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

1816, August. Continued. 

Protest against the Treaty of 2d August, 1815 — Remarks on Russia — The Burning of Moscow — 
Projects of Napoleon had he returned victorious — Decrees of Berlin and Milan — Pohtical De- 
fense — Remarks to Captain Poppleton. 

August 23. The daj was dark, wet, and gloomy. The Emperor, serious- 
ly indisposed, spent the hours alone in his room, reading. About half past 
three he sent for Las Casas. After dinner he read to his companions, though 
often interrupted by a cough, the tales of Marmontel. At ten o'clock, weary 
and sad, he retired. During the day he sent to Sir Hudson Lowe his pro- 
test against the treaty of the 2d of August. It was dictated by the Emperor 
to Count Montholon. The document is one of so much importance that we 
give it entire. 

"To General /Sir Hudson J^owe. 

" Longwood, August 23, 1816. 
" SiK, — I have received a copy of the treaty of the 2d of August, 1815, 
concluded between his Britannic majesty, the Emperor of Austria, and the Em- 
peror of Russia, and the King of Prussia, inclosed in your letter of July 23d.*' 

* Treaty of the 2d of August, 1815. 

" Napoleon Bonaparte being in the power of the allied sovereigns, their majesties the King of the 
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Emperor of Austria, the Emperor of Russia, and ' 
the King of Prussia, have determined, by virtue of the stipulations of the treaty of the 26th of March, 
1815, on the measures best calculated to render it impossible for him, by any new enterprise, to dis- 
turb the peace of Europe. 

"Art. 1. Napoleon Bonaparte is regarded by the powers who have signed the treaty of the 26th 
of March last as their prisoner. 

"Art. 2. His safe-keeping is intrusted to the British government. The choice of the place, and 
of the measures best calculated to insure the object of these stipulations, is reserved to his Britan- 
nic majesty. 

"Art. 3. The imperial courts of Austria and Russia, and the royal court of Prussia, shall appoint 
commissioners to reside in the place which his Britannic majesty shall determine on as the resi- 
dence of Napoleon Bonaparte, and who, without being responsible for his safe custody, shall assure 
themselves of his presence. 

"Art. 4. His most Christian majesty is invited, in the name of the four courts above named, in 
like manner to send a French commissioner to the place of Napoleon Bonaparte's detention. 

"Art. 5. His majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland binds him- 
self to fulfill the engagements assigned to him by the present convention. 

"Art. 6. The present convention shall be ratified, and the ratifications exchanged within a few 
days, or sooner, if possible. 

" In ratification of which, the respective plenipotentiaries have affixed their hands and seals. 

" Given at Paris, the 2d of August, 1815. 

*' (Signed), Prince Metteknich, 

Aberdeen, 

" [A true copy.] Prince Hardenburg, 

Count Nesselrode. 
"Hudson Lowe, Governor of the island of St. Helena, and 
" Commissioner of his Britannic majesty." 



1816, August] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 357 

" The Emperor Napoleon protests against the contents of this treaty. He 
is not the prisoner of the English government. After having resigned his 
crowns into the hands of representatives for the advantage of the Constitu- 
tion adopted by the French people, and in favor of his son, he retired freely, 
and of his own will, to England, to live there as a private individual, under 
the protection of British laws. The violation of laws can never constitute a 
right. In point of fact, the Emperor is in the power of England, but neither 
de facto nor de jure has he been, nor is he, in the power of Austria, Russia, 
or Prussia, even according to the laws and customs of England, which never 
included the Russians, the Austrians, the Prussians, the Spaniards, or Portu- 
guese in any exchange of prisoners, even while allied with those powers and 
carrying on war conjointly with them. The treaty of the 2d of August, 
agreed to fifteen days after the Emperor Napoleon's arrival in England, can 
have no effect in law ; it merely presents the spectacle of the four greatest 
powers of Europe entering into a coalition for the oppression of a single indi- 
vidual — a coalition in direct opposition to the feelings of all nations, as it is 
to the doctrines of sound morality. 

" The Emperors of Austria and of Russia, and the King of Prussia, hav- 
ing, neither in fact nor in law, any authority over the person of the Emperor 
Napoleon, could not legally make any arrangement respecting him. If the 
Emperor Napoleon had fallen into the power of the Emperor of Austria, that 
prince would have remembered the relation which the laws of religion and 
nature have established between father and son — a relation which can never 
be disregarded with impunity. He would have remembered that Napoleon 
had four times restored to him his crown — at Leoben in 1797, and at Lune- 
ville in 1801, when his armies were at the walls of Vienna; at Presburg in 
1806, and at Vienna in 1809, when his armies were masters of the capital 
and of three fourths of the empire. That prince would have remembered the 
protestations of friendship which he had made to him at the bivouac in Mo- 
ravia in 1806, and at the interview at Dresden in 1812. 

"If the person of the Emperor Napoleon had fallen into the power of the 
Emperor Alexander, he would have remembered the bonds of friendshijD con- 
tracted at Tilsit, at Erfurt, and during twelve years of daily intercourse. He 
would have remembered the conduct of the Emperor Napoleon the day after 
the battle of Austerlitz, when he might have made him pri sooner with the 
wreck of his army, but contented himself with his parole, and allowed him 
to retreat. He would have remembered the personal danger to which the 
Emperor Napoleon exposed himself in his endeavors to extinguish the fire of 
Moscow, and to preserve his capital. Certainly this prince would not have 
violated the duties of friendship and gratitude toward a friend in misfortune. 

" If the person of the Emperor had ever fallen into the power of the King 
of Prussia, that sovereign would not have forgotten that it had been in the 
power of the Emperor, after the battle of Friedland, to have placed another 
prince on the throne of Berlin. He would not have forgotten, before a dis- 
armed enemy, the protestations of friendship, and the sentiments he express- 
ed toward him at Dresden in 1812. 



358 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [Chap. XXIV. 

" Thus we see by Articles 2 and 5 of the said treaty of the 2d of August, 
that these princes, not being able to influence in any degree the fate of the 
Emperor, refer to what his Britannic majesty, who takes upon him to fulfill 
all their obligations, may determine on the subject. These princes have re- 
proached the Emperor for having preferred the protection of England to theirs. 
The false ideas which the Emperor entertamed respecting the liberality of 
the English laws, and in reference to the influence which the opinion of a 
generous and free people ought to have upon its government, determined him 
to prefer the protection of its laws to those of his father-in-law or of his old 
friend. The Emperor Napoleon always had it in his power to secure his 
personal freedom by means of a diplomatic treaty, either by putting himself 
at the head of the army of the Loire, or by taking the command of the army 
of the Gironde, then commanded by General Clausel. But as he sought mere- 
ly for retreat and the protection of free laws, whether English or American, 
all stipulations appeared to him unnecessary. He believed that the English 
people would be more bound by his frank, noble, and generous proceeding 
than it would have been by any treaty whatever. He has been deceived. 
But this error will always cause a true Briton to blush, either in the present 
generation or in those to come, and will be a lasting proof of the want of 
honor displayed by the English government. 

" Austrian and Russian commissioners have arrived at St. Helena. If 
their mission is intended to fulfill a part of the duties which the Emperors 
of Austria and Russia have contracted in consequence of the treaty of tlvc 
2d of August, and to take care that, in a little island surrounded by the ocean, 
the agents of the English government should not treat with disrespect a 
prince connected with them by the bonds of relationship and by several 
other ties, this proceeding is worthy of the character of these two sovereigns. 
But you, sir, have taken upon you to assert that these commissioners have 
neither the right nor the power to have an opinion on any thing which may 
take place on this rock. 

" The English ministry has caused the Emperor Napoleon to be sent to 
St. Helena, two thousand leagues from Europe. This rock, situated under 
the tropic, at five hundred leagues from any continent, is exposed to the 
dreadful heat of these latitudes. It is covered with clouds and fogs three 
fourths of the year. It is, at the same time, the driest and the most humid 
climate in the world. It is hatred alone which has presided over the choice 
of this residence, detrimental as it is, and must be, to the health of the Em- 
peror, as well as over the instructions dispatched by the English government 
to the officers commanding at St. Helena. They were ordered to address the 
Emperor as general, wishing to oblige him to acknowledge that he had never 
reigned in France ; and it was this that determined him not to assume an in- 
cognito, as he had decided upon doing when he quitted France. When chief 
magistrate of the Republic, under the title of First Consul, he concluded the 
preliminaries of the treaty of London and the treaty of Amiens with the 
King of Great Britain. He received as embassadors Lord Cornwallis, Mr. 
Merry, and Lord Whitworth, who signed the treaty as such at his court. 



1816, Aug-USt.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 359 

He accredited, as embassadors at the court of Great Britain, Count Otto and 
General Andreossj, who resided as such at the court of Windsor. When, 
after an exchange of notes between the ministers of foreign affairs of the two 
monarchies. Lord Lauderdale came to Paris as plenipotentiary from the King 
of England, he treated with the plenipotentiaries of the Emperor Napoleon, 
and remained for several months at the court of the Tuileries. When, after- 
ward, at Chatillon, Lord Castlereagh signed the ultimatum which the allied 
powers laid before the Emperor Napoleon, he recognized in this act the fourth 
dynasty. 

" This ultimatum was more advantageous than the treaty of Paris, but it 
was required by it that France should give up Belgium and the left bank of 
the E-hine, which was contrary to the arrangements of Frankfort and to the 
proclamations of the allied powers, and also to the oath which the Emperor 
had sworn at his coronation, to maintain the integrity of the empire. The 
Emperor thought, then, that these natural limits were necessary to the pro- 
tection of France, as well as to the bala.nce of power in Europe. He consid- 
ered that the French nation, in the circumstances in which it was then placed, 
ought rather to run the risk of a war than to depart from them. France 
would have obtained its claims, and with them have preserved its honor, if 
treason had not aided the Allies. 

" The treaty of the 2d of August and the bill passed by the British Par- 
liament caU the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, and give him no title but 
that of general. The title of General Bonaparte is, no doubt, an eminently 
glorious one. The Emperor was only General Bonaparte at Lodi, at Cas- 
tiglione, at E-ivoli, at Areola, at Leoben, at the Pyramids, at Aboukir ; but 
for seventeen years he has borne the names of First Consul and Emperor. 
This would, in effect, amount to acknowledging that he had neither been first 
magistrate of the republic nor sovereign of the fourth dynasty. Those who 
consider nations as flocks of sheep, which, by divine right, are the property 
of some family, belong neither to the century nor to the spirit of English 
legislation, which has several times changed the order of its dynasty, because 
great changes which had occurred in public opinion, and in which the reign- 
ing princes had not participated, had rendered them unfit to provide for the 
happiness of the majority of the nation ; for kings are but hereditary mag- 
istrates, who exist merely for the happiness of the nations, not nations for 
the satisfaction of kings. 

"It is this same spirit of hatred which has decreed that the Emperor Na- 
poleon is not to be allowed to write or receive any letter which has not been 
opened and read by the English officers at St. Helena. By this means he 
has been prevented from receiving any account of his mother, his wife, his 
son, or his brothers ; and when he wished to free himself from the inconven- 
ience of his letters being read by subaltern officers, and endeavored for this 
purpose to send a sealed letter to the Prince Eegent, he received for answer 
that only unsealed letfers could be received — that such were the instructions 
of the ministry. This measure must give strange ideas of the spirit of the 
administration by which it was dictated ; it would not have been acknowl- 



360 NAPOLEON AT ST HELENA. [ChAP. XXIV. 

edged at Algiers. Letters arrived for general officers in the service of the 
Emperor ; thej were opened, and sent to you. You detained them because 
they did not pass through the Enghsh ministry. They were obhged to per- 
form a journey of four thousand leagues, and these officers had the pain of 
knowing that there were, on this rock, accounts of their wives, their mothers, 
and their children, and that they would he obliged to wait six months before 
receiving: them. The heart revolts. 

"We have not been allowed to subscribe to the 'Mornins: Chronicle,' to 
the 'Morning Post,' or to some French newspapers. Occasionally, some cop- 
ies of ' The Times' have been sent to Longwood. In consequence of the re- 
quest made on board the Nortluiinberland, some books have been sent us ; 
but all those relating to the aifairs of the last few years were carefully kept 
away. At a later period, we wished to enter into correspondence with a Lon- 
don bookseller, to obtain directly such books as we might require ; this was 
prevented. An Ei:iglish author, having written an account of a journey in 
France, sent you a copy of his Avork, which he had printed in London, to pre- 
sent it to the Emperor. You did not do so, because it had not come through 
the medium of the English government. It is said, also, that several books, 
forwarded by their authors for the Emperor, have not been given to him, be- 
cause the address on some was to 'the Emperor Napoleon,' on others to 
' Napoleon the Great.' The English ministry has no right to inflict all these 
vexations. The law of the British Parliament, although unjust, considers 
the Emperor Napoleon as a prisoner of war, and prisoners of war have never 
been prevented from subscribing to newspapers, or from receiving books. 
Such a prohibition is as yet only known in the dungeons of the Inquisition. 

" The island of St. Helena is ten leagues in circumference. It is inaccess- 
ible on every side. Vessels guard the coast, and sentries are placed along 
the shore within sight of one another, thus rendering any communication 
with the sea impossible. There is but one little town, Jamestown, where 
vessels touch or get ready for sea. To prevent any individual from escaping 
from the island, it Avould be sufficient to blockade the coast by sea and land. 
By preventing the Emperor from enjoying the liberty of the interior of the 
island, only one object can be gained, that of depriving him of an opportuni- 
ty of enjoying a ride or walk of eight or ten miles, the privation of wliich ex- 
ercise, according to medical men, will tend to shorten his life. 

" The Emperor has been settled at Longwood, which is exposed to every 
wind, is on a ban-en soil, uninhabited, without water, and susceptible of no 
cultivation. There is a space of about two thousand or three thousand 
yards without any cultivation. At a distance of some six hundred yards a 
camp has been established. Another has been placed at about the same dis- 
tance on the opposite side; so that, under all the heat of the tropics, on which- 
ever side you turn your eyes, you only see camps. Admiral Malcolm, per- 
ceiving of what use a tent would be to the Emperor, caused one to be erected 
by his sailors about twenty paces from the house. This is the only spot 
where there is any shade. The Emperor feels himself here compelled to re- 
mark that he has had every reason to be satisfied with the spirit which ani- 



1816, August.] RESIDEiNCE AT LONGWOOD. 361 

mates both- officers and men of the 53d, as he also was with the crew of the 
JS'orthumbej'larid. 

" The house at Long wood was built to serve as a barn for the Company's 
farm. At a later period, the deputy governor of the island had some rooms 
built there. It served him as a country-house, but was in no respect suit- 
able for a dwelling. The Emperor has been settled there a year. During 
the whole time, workmen have been employed in and about the house, and 
he has constantly been subject to the inconvenience and unhealthiness of 
living in a house in course of building or repair. The room in which he 
sleeps is too small to contain a bed of an ordinary size. But any additional 
building would cause the inconvenience of workmen to be prolonged. And 
yet in this miserable island there are some beautiful spots, with fine trees, 
.gardens, and tolerable houses — among others, Plantation House. But the 
positive instructions of the ministry forbid you to give up this house, which 
would have spared you a considerable expense, employed in building at Long- 
wood cabins covered with pitched paper, which are already out of repair. 
You have prohibited all correspondence between us and the inhabitants of 
the island. You have, in fact, isolated the house of Longwood. You have 
even perverted our intercourse with the officers of the garrison. You seem, 
then, to have taken pains to deprive us of all the resources which even this 
miserable country offers, and we are just as we should be on the uncultivated 
and uninhabited rock of Ascension. In the four months during which you 
have been here, sir, you have rendered the Emperor's situation much worse. 
Count Bertrand has already had occasion to remark to you that you were 
violating even the laws of your Legislature — that you were trampling under 
foot the right of general officers when prisoners of war. You replied that 
you only recognized the letter of your instructions, and that they were worse 
still than your conduct appeared to us. 

" (Signed), General Count Montholon. 

"P.S. — I had already signed this letter, sir, when I received yours of the 
17th, in which you inclose an estimate concerning an annual sum of d£20,000 
[$100,000], which you consider necessary for the expenses of the establish- 
ment at Longwood, after all the reductions which you have thought it neces- 
sary to make. The discussion of this estimate can not concern us in any 
respect. The table of the Emperor is scarcely furnished with what is strictly 
necessary ; all the provisions are of bad quality, and four times as dear as at 
Paris. You require from the Emperor a sum of £12,000 [$60,000] for all 
these expenses. I have already had the honor of informing you that the 
Emperor has no funds at his disposal ; that, during the last year, he has nei- 
ther written nor received any letter, and that he is completely ignorant of ev- 
ery thing which has taken place, or which might have taken place, in Europe. 
Violently carried oiF to this rock, at a distance of two thousand leagues from 
Europe, without being able to receive or write any letters, he is entirely at 
the discretion of English agents. The Emperor has always desired, and still 
desires, to bear all his own expenses of every kind, and he will do so as soon 
as you make it possible, by removing the prohibition to the merchants of the 



362 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXIV. 

island with reference to conveying his correspondence, and as soon as he is 
certain of its being submitted to no examination from you or any of your 
agents. As soon as the necessities of the Emperor become known in Eu- 
rope, those who take an interest in him will send him the necessary funds. 

" The letter of Lord Bathurst, which you have communicated to me, gives 
rise to strange ideas. Were your ministers ignorant that the sight of a great 
man struggling with adversity is a most sublime sight ? Were they igno- 
rant that Napoleon at St. Helena, in the midst of persecutions of all kinds, 
which lie meets with never-changing serenity, is greater, more sacred, more 
venerable than upon the first throne in the world, where he was so long the 
arbiter of kings ? Those who fail in respect to Napoleon in such a situation 
merely debase their own character and the nation wliich they represent. 
"(Signed), General Count Montholon." 

August 24. The Emperor passed a night of sleeplessness and of suffering. 
He coughed much and was quite feverish. At two o'clock, as the weather 
was mild, he walked out, but found himself so feeble that he was soon com- 
pelled to return. At eight o'clock he dined in his bath. A small table was 
placed by the side of it for Las Casas to dine. He had been, during the day, 
examining Russia, and the Russian possessions in America, in the celebrated 
Historical 'Atlas of Las Casas. In conversation with his intelligent com- 
panion, he reverted to this subject. 

" Did Peter the Great," asked he, " act with wisdom in founding a capital 
at Petersburg at so vast an expense ? Would not the results have been 
greater had he expended all his money at Moscow ? What was his object, 
and did he accomplish it ?" 

" If Peter had remained at Moscow," replied Las Casas, " his nation would 
have continued Muscovite, a people altogether Asiatic. It was necessary 
that it should be displaced for its reform and alteration. He therefore select- 
ed a position on the frontiers ; he connected himself with European society ; 
he established his power in the Baltic, where he could prevent the Poles and 
the Swedes from forming alliances against him." 

"I am not altogether satisfied," said the Emperor, "with these reasons. 
However it may be, Moscow has disappeared, and who can compute the 
wealth that has been swalloAved up there ? Let us contemplate Paris with 
the accumulation of centuries, of works, and of industry. Had its capital in- 
creased but a million of francs a year for the fourteen hundred years it has 
existed, what sums! Let us connect with that the warehouses, the furni- 
ture, the union of sciences and the arts, the complete establishments of trade 
and commerce, and this is the picture of Moscow, and yet all that vanished 
in an instant ! What a catastrophe ! Does not the bare idea of it make one 
shudder ? I do not think it could be re-established at the expense of two 
thousand millions. 

" Never, with all the powers of poetry, have all the fictions of the burning 
of Troy equaled the reality of that of Moscow. The city was of wood, the 
wind was violent, all the pumps had been carried off. It was literally an 



1816, August] 



RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



BQi 



ocean of fire. Nothing had been saved from it, our march was so rapid, our 
entrance so sudden. We found even diamonds on the women's toilets, they 
had fled so precipitately. They wrote to us a short time afterward that they 
had sought to escape from the first bursts of a dangerous soldiery. They 
recommended their property to the generosity of the conquerors, and would 
not fail to reappear in the course of a few days to solicit their kindnesses and 
testify their gratitude. 



'■'% 







CONFLAGRATION OF MOSCOW. 



*' The population was far from having plotted that atrocity. Even they 
themselves had delivered up to us three or four hundred criminals, escaped 
from prison, who had executed it." 

*' Sire," said Las Casas, " may I ask, if Moscow had not been burned, did 
not your majesty intend to establish your quarters there ?" 

*' Certainly," answered the Emperor, "and I should then have exhibited 
the singular spectacle of an army wintering in the midst of a hostile nation, 
pressing upon it from all points. It would have been the ship caught in the 
ice. You would have been, in France, without any intelligence from me for 
several months. You would have remained quiet : you would have acted 
wisely. Cambaceres would have conducted affairs in my name as usual, and 
all would have been as orderly as if I had been present. The winter in Rus- 
sia would have weighed on every one heavily, the torpor would have been 
general, but the spring would have revived all the world. All would have 
been at once in motion, and it is well known that the French are as active as 
any others. On the first appearance of fine weather, I should have marched 



364 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXIV. 

against the enemy, I should have Leaten them, I should have been master 
of their empire. Alexander, he assured, would not have suffered me to pro- 
ceed so far. He would have agreed to all the conditions which I might 
have dictated, and France would then have begun to enjoy all her advant- 
ages. And truly my success depended upon a mere trifle ; for I had un- 
dertaken the expedition to fight against armed men, not against Nature in the 
violence of her wrath. I defeated armies, but I could not conquer the flames, 
the frost, stupefaction, and death ! I was forced to yield to Fate. And, after 
all, how unfortunate for France — indeed, for aU Europe ! 

" Peace concluded at Moscow wovild have fulfilled and wound up my hos- 
tile expeditions. It would have been, with respect to the grand cause, the 
end of casualties and the commencement of security. A new horizon, new 
undertakings, would have unfolded themselves, adapted to the well-being and 
prosperity of all. The foundation of the European system would have been 
laid, and my only remaining task would have been its organization. Satis- 
fied on these grand points, and every where at peace, I should have also had 
my Congress and my Holy Alliance. These are plans which were stolen 
from me. In that Assembly of all the sovereigns, we should liave discussed 
our interests in a family way, and settled our accounts with the peoj)le as a 
clerk does with his master. 

" The cause of the age was victorious, the Revolution accomplished. The 
only point in question was to reconcile it with what it had not destroyed. 
But that task belonged to me. I had for a long time been making prepara- 
tions for it, at the expense, perhaps, of my popularity. No matter. I be- 
came the arch of the old and new alliance, the natural mediator betAveen the 
ancient and modern order of things. I maintained the principles and pos- 
sessed the confidence of the one, I had identified myself with the other. I 
belonged to them both ; I should have acted conscientiously in favor of each. 
My glory would have consisted in my equity. 

" Powerful as we were, all that we might have conceded would have ap- 
peared grand. It would have gained us the gratitude of the people. At 
present, what they may extract will never seem enough to them, and they 
will be uniformly distrustful and discontented. 

" I wished to establish the same principles, the same system every where. 
/ A Europeon code, a court of European appeal, with full powers to redress 
all wrong decisions, as ours redresses at home those of our tribunals, money 
of the same value, but with different coins, the same weights, the same meas- 
ures, the same laws. Europe would soon, in that manner, have really been 
but the same people, and every one who traveled would have every where 
found himself in one common country. I should have required that all the 
rivers should be navigable in common ; that the seas should be thrown 
open ; that the great standing armies should in future be reduced to the sin- 
gle establishment of a guard for the sovereign. On my return to France, in 
the bosom of my country, at once great, powerful, magnificent, at peace and 
glorious, I would have proclaimed the immutability of boundaries, all future 
wsiXB piirely defensive, all new aggrandizement anti-national. I would have 



1816, August.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 365 

associated my son with tlie empire. My dictatorship would have terminated, 
and his constitutional reign commenced. Paris would have been the capital 
of the world, and the French the envy of nations. My leisure and my old 
age would have heen consecrated, in company with the Empress, and during 
the royal apprenticeship of my son, in visiting, with my own carriage, every 
corner of the empire, in receiving complaints, in redressing wrongs, in found- 
ing monuments, and in doing good every where and by every means. These, 
my dear Las Casas, were among my dreams." 

August 25. It was a lovely morning, and the Emperor breakfasted in his 
tent with all his companions. After dinner, the turn of the conversation led 
to a review of the maritime dispute with England. 

"Her pretensions to blockade on paper," the Emperor observed, "produced 
my famous Berlin decree. The British Council, in a fit of passion, issued its 
Orders ; it established a right of toll on the seas. I instantly replied by the 
celebrated Milan decrees, which denationalized every flag that yielded obe- 
dience to the English acts. It was then that the war became in England 
truly personal. Every one connected with trade was enraged against me. 
England was exasperated at a struggle and energy of which she had no ex- 
ample. She had uniformly found those who had preceded me more complai- 
sant. 

"I influenced the Americans to make war against the English by discov- 
ering the way of connecting their interests with their rights, for people fight 
much more readily for the former than for the latter. I am at present ex- 
pecting the attempt, on the part of the English, on the sovereignty of the seas, 
for the establishment of the right of universal toll. It is one of the principal 
resources left them for discharging their debts, for extricating themselves 
from the abyss into which they are plunged — in a word, of getting rid of 
their embarrassments. If they have among them an enterprising genius, 
a man of strong intellect, they will certainly undertake something of the 
kind. Nobody is powerful enough to oppose it, and they set up their claim 
with a species of justice. They may plead in its justification that it was 
for the safety of Europe they involved themselves in difficulties ; that they 
succeeded, and that they are entitled to some compensation. And then the 
only ships of war in Europe are theirs. They reign, in fact, at present, over 
the seas. There is an end to the existence of public rights when the balance 
is broken. The English may now be omnipotent, if they will but confine 
themselves to their navy ; but they will endanger their superiority, complicate 
their affairs, and insensibly lose their importance if they persevere in keep- 
ing soldiers on the Continent." 

August 26. Early in the morning the Emperor repaired to his tent to dic- 
tate. He breakfasted there with his companions, and then continued his 
labors till two o'clock. Dr. O'Meara called. 

"Have you seen," inquired the Emperor, "the protest written by Count 
Montholon to Sir Hudson Lowe, and do you think this governor will send it . 
to England ?" 

"I have seen it," said O'Meara, "and I have no doubt he will send it. 



366 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ClIAP. XXIV. 

The governor told me that he had offered not only to send your letters home, 
but to get them published in the newspapers." 

" It is a falsehood," replied the Emperor. "He said that he would send 
letters to JOurope and have them published provided he ajtproved of their 
contods. Besides, even if he wished to do so, his government would not per- 
mit it. Suppose, for example, I sent him an address to the French people ? 

"I do not think," continued the Emperor, "that the government will al- 
low a letter, which covers them with so much disgrace, to be published. The 
people of England wish to know why I call myself Emperor, after having 
abdicated. I have explained it in that letter. It was my intention to have 
lived in England as a private person, incognito. But as they have sent me 
here, and want to make it appear that I Avas never chief magistrate or Em- 
peror of France, I still retain the title." 

Additional sentinels were now stationed around the house, and a ditch, 
about ten feet deep, was dug, which encircled the premises. The Emperor 
could not walk out in the evening, after the blaze of a tropical sun had dis- 
appeared, and when only walking was pleasant, without exposing himself to 
insult and arrest. 

August 27. The Emperor spent the whole morning dictating. The wind 
was so rougli that he could not ride out. On vising from the dinner-table, he 
adverted to his protest against the treaty of the 2d of August. 

"I intend," said he, "to draw up another protest, on a more extended 
and important scale, against the bill that has been passed in the British Par- 
liament. I shall prove that that bill is not a law, but a violation of every 
existing law. The English Parliament have done, not what was just, but 
what was deemed to be expedient. It has imitated Themistocles without 
hearino; Aristides." 

The J<]mpcror then arraigned himself before all the nations in Europe, and 
proved that each Avould necessarily accjuit him. He took a review of the 
different acts of his reign, and justified them all. 

"The French and the Italians," said he, "lament my absence. I carry 
with me the gratitude of tlie Poles, and even the late and bitter regrets of the 
Spaniards. Europe will soon deplore the loss of the equilibrium, to the main- 
tenance of which my French empire Avas absolutely necessary. The Conti- 
nent is now in the most perilous situation, being continually exposed to the 
risk of being overrun by Cossacks and Tartars ; and the English Avill deplore 
their victory of Waterloo. Things will be carried to such a length, that pos- 
terity, together Avith every Avell-disposed person among our contemporaries. 
will regret tiiat I did not succeed in all my enterprises." 

Look at Europe now. Its condition is aAvful! The agitated masses, 
frantic Avith oppression, are struggling to break those chains Avhich Avere 
newly riveted at AVaterloo. If the masses triumph, unskilled in govern- 
ment, Avith impetuous and distracted councils, tlicre is, in all probability, an- 
archy and untold Avoe. If the despots triumph, they must bind still heavier 
fetters upon the exasperated multitudes. This position of affairs is England's 
inexpiable crime. Had Napoleon not been crushed, Continental Europe 



1816, August.] RESIDENCE AT LONG WOOD 367 

would now have been blessed with constitutional monarchies, sacredly pro- 
tecting the rights of contented peoples. "The victory at Waterloo," said 
Napoleon, truly, " was the triumph of the cause of kmgs aganist that of the 
people, of privileges against equality, of the oligarchs against the Liberals, and 
of the principles of the Holy Alliance against those of the sovereignty of the 
people." 

In conversation with Dr. O'Meara, the political measures adopted by the 
Bourbons were alluded to. 

"The Bourbons," said the Emperor, "wish to Introduce the old system 
of nobility into the army. Instead of allowing the sons of peasants and la- 
borers to be eligible to be made generals, as they were in my time, they wish 
to confine it entirely to the old nobility, to emigrants^ like the imbecile Mont- 
chenu. When you have seen him, you have seen all tlie old nobility of 
France before the Ee volution. Such were all the race ; and such they have 
returned, ignorant, vain, and arrogant as they left it. They have learned 
nothing, they have forgotten nothing. They were the cause of the Revolu- 
tion and of so much bloodshed. And now, after twenty-five years of exile 
and disgrace, they return, loaded with the same vices and crimes for whicli 
they were expatriated, to produce another Revolution. They are a curse to 
the nation. It is of such as them that the Bourbons wish to make generals. 
I made most of mine from the people. 

" Wherever I found talent and courage, I rewarded it. My principle was 
a career open to talents^ without asking whether there were any quarters of 
nobility to show. It is true that I sometimes promoted a few of the old no- 
bility, from a principle of policy and justice. The people now see the re- 
vival of feudal times. They see that it will soon be impossible for their 
progeny to rise in the army. Every true Frenchman reflects witli anguish 
that a family for so many years odious to France has been forced upon them 
over a bridge of foreign bayonets." 

Napoleon practically made himself one of the people, and in his campaigns 




THE EMPEUOli 



368 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ClIAP. XXV. 

shared all the hardships of the soldiers, lie often refused to sleep in ceiled 
houses, that he might share with them their bivouac in the open air. 

Avgud 30. The Emperor rose at three o'clock in the morning, and wrote 
till six, when he again retired to bed. Just before dinner, he sent Count Bcr- 
trand to request Captain Poppleton, the English orderly officer at Longwood, 
to call at his room. 

"I believe, Captain Poppleton,'' said the Emperor, "that you are the sen- 
ior captain of the 5od regiment." 

"I am," he replied. 

*' I have an esteem for the officers and men of the 53d," continued the Em- 
peror. " They are brave men, and do their duty. I have been informed 
that it is said in camp that I do not wish to see the officers. Will you be 
so good as to tell them that whoever asserted this told a falsehood ? I nev- 
er said or thought so. I shall be always ha])py to see them." 

"The information you have received is, I think," said Captain Poppleton, 
" incorrect. The officers of the 53d are acquainted Avith the good opinion 
which you have previously expressed, and which is highly gratifying to 
them. They also cherish the greatest respect for you." 

Napoleon smiled and said, " I love a brave soldier, who has undergone 
the baptism of lire, to wdiatever nation he may belong." 



CHAPTER XXV. 

ISIG, September. 

Faded Drc.=;scs — Tlio Campaign of Saxony — Reflections — The Massacres of the Thinl of September 
— Remarks on Revolutions — Unhappy Fate of Louis XVL — Letters of Madam de Maintcnon — 
Errors of the Enfjlish Ministers — The Debt of England — The Emperor's Court at the Tuilcrics — 
The Emperor's Munificence — Guards of the Eagle — Lucien's Charlemagne. 

/September 1. The weather was very dull and dispiriting, and the Em- 
peror remained in his own room till three o'clock. He then walked out to 
the wood, where the calash was appointed to meet him. A shower sudden- 
ly came on, and he sought shelter beneath the scanty foliage of a gum-tree. 
He was quite wet before the calash came. As he was returning liome with 
all speed, he saw the governor approaching. He immediately ordered the 
coachman to turn, observing that, of two evils, he would choose the least. 
Notwithstanding the wind and the rain, he took a circuitous roxite home, and 
thus avoided the governor. 

Dui'ing dinner the Emperor playfully alluded to the worn and faded dress- 
es of the ladies. "Your garments," said he, "will soon resemble the gay 
trappings of those old misers who purchase their wardrobe from the dealers 
in second-hand clothes. They no longer display the freshness and elegance 
that characterized the millinery of Leroi, Despaux, and Herbault." 

The ladies craved the Empei-or's indulgence for St. Helena ; and one of 
the gentlemen spoke of the Emperor's supposed fastidiousness with regard 
to female dress at the Tuileries. 



1816, September.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 369 

Napoleon smilingly replied, " The idea of my scrupulous taste in dress 
was a mere invention of tlie ladies of the court, who made it a pretense or an 
excuse for their extravagance." He then added, in reference to the thread- 
bare aspect of all their clothing, " I have told Marchand that I shall wear 
every day the hunting-coat I now have on, until it shall be past the possi- 
bility of being worn any longer." 

"It was already," says Las Casas, "very far gone." 

The Emperor was quite low-spirited, played a few games of chess, and 
early retired to bed. 

Sej)te7nbe7' 2. The Emperor went out to his tent, but the wind blew so 
violently that he was soon compelled to return to his dreary chamber. He 
went into his library, and, after trying in vain to get interested in several 
books, he took up one relating to his last campaigns. After perusing it for 
a time, he threw it down as Las Casas entered, saying, 

" It is a downright rhapsody — a mere tissue of contradictions and absurd- 
ities. The memorable campaign of Saxony will be regarded as the triumph 
of courage in the youth of France ; of intrigue and cunning in English di- 
plomacy ; of intelligence on the part of the Russians, and of effrontery in the 
Austrian cabinet. It will mark the period of the disorganization of political 
societies ; the great separation of subjects from their sovereigns ; finally, the 
decay of the first military virtues, fidelity, loyalty, and honor. It will be 
in vain to write and comment, to invent falsehoods and suppositions ; we 
must always arrive at the odious and mortifying result. Time will develop 
both its truth and its consequences. 

" But it is a remarkable circumstance in this case, that all discredit is 
equally removed from sovereign, soldiers, and people. It was entirely the 
work of a few military intriguers and headlong politicians, who, under the 
specious pretext of shaking off , the foreign yoke and recovering the national 
independence, purposely sold their own rulers to envious rival cabinets. The 
results soon became manifest. The King of Saxony forfeited half his pos- 
sessions. The King of Bavaria was compelled to make valuable restitutions. 
What did the traitors "care for that ? They enjoyed their rewards and their 
wealth, and those who had proved themselves most upright and innocent 
were visited with the severest pimishment. . The King of Saxony, the most 
honest man who ever wielded a sceptre, was stripped of half his provinces. 
The King of Denmark, so faithful to all his engagements, was deprived of his 
crown. This, however, was affirmed to be the restoration and the triumph 
of morality ! Such is the distributive justice of this world ! 

" To the honor of human nature, and even to the honor of kings, I must 
once more declare, that never was more virtue manifested than amid the 
baseness which marked this period. I never for a moment had cause to 
complain individually of the princes, our allies. The good King of Saxony 
continued faithful to the last. The King of Bavaria loyally avowed to me 
that he was no longer his own master. The generosity of the King of Wurt- 
emberg was particularly remarkable. The Prince of Baden yielded only to 
force, and at the very last extremity. I must render them the justice to ac- 

Aa 



370 NAPOLEON AT ST HELENA. [ChAP. XXV. 

knowledge that all gave me due notice of the storm that was gathering, in 
order that I might adopt the necessary precautions. But how odious, on the 
other hand, was the conduct of subaltern agents ! Can military parade oblit' 
erate the infamy of the Saxons, who returned to our ranks for the purpose of 
destroying us ? Their treachery became proverbial among the troops, who 
still use the term Saxonner to designate a soldier who assassinates another. 
To crown all, it was a Frenchman (Bernadotte) — a man for whom French 
blood liad purchased a crown — a nursling of France, who gave the finisliing 
stroke to our disasters. Great God ! 

" But, in the situation in which I was placed, the circumstance which 
served to till up the measure of my distress was that I beheld the decisive 
hour approach. The star grew dim. I felt the reins slip from my hands, 
and yet I could do nothing. Only a sudden turn of fortune could save us. 
To treat for, or to conclude any compact, would have been to yield like an 
imbecile to the enemy. I was convinced of this, and the event proved that 
I Avas not mistaken. We had, therefore, no alternative but to fight, and ev- 
ery day, by some fatality or other, our chances diminished. Treason began 
to penetrate our ranks. Great numbers of our troops sank under the effects 
of fatigue and discouragement. They were no longer the same men who fig- 
ured at the commencement of the llevolution, or who had distinguished them- 
selves in the brilliant moments of my success. I have been informed that 
some presumed to allege in their defense that at first they fought for the 
Republic and for their country, while afterward they fought only for a sin- 
gle man, for his individual interests, and his ambition. 

" Unworthy subterfuge ! Ask the young and brave soldiers, and the offi- 
cers of intermediate rank in the French army, whether such a calculation 
ever eiitered their thoughts- — -whether they ever saw before them any thing 
but the enemy, or behind them any thing save the honor, glory, and triumph 
of France ? These men never fought better than at the period alluded to. 
Why dissemble ? Why not make a candid avowal ? The truth is, that 
most of the officers of high rank had gained every object of their ambition. 
They were sated with wealth aiul honors. They had drunk of the cup of 
pleasure, and they henceforth wished for repose, which they would have pur- 
chased at any price. The sacred flame was extinguished ; they Avere willing 
to sink to the level of the marshals of Louis XV. 

" How was I perplexed to find myself the only one to judge of the extent 
of our danger, and to adopt means to avert it! I was. harassed on the one 
hand by the coalesced powers, who threatened our very existence, and on the 
other hand by the spirit of my own subjects, who, in their blindness, seemed 
to make common cause with them. I was harassed by our foreign enemies, 
who were laboring for my destruction, and by the importunities of my peo- 
ple, and even my ministers, who urged me to throw myself on the mercy of 
foreigners ; and I was obliged to maintain a good appearance in this embar- 
rassing situation, to reply haughtily to some, and sharply to rebuff others 
who created difficulties in my rear, encouraged the mistaken course of public 
opinion instead of seeking to give it a proper direction, and suffered me to be 



1816, September.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 371 

tormented by demands for peace when tliey ought to have proved that the 
only means of obtaining it was to urge me ostensibly to war. 

" However, my determination was fixed. I awaited the result of events, 
firmly resolved to enter into no concessions or treaties which could present 
only a temporary reparation, and would inevitably have been attended by 
fatal consequences. Any middle course must have been dangerous. There 
was no safety except in victory, which Avould have preserved my power, or 
in some catastrophe which would have brought back my allies. In what a 
situation was I placed ! I saw that France, her destinies, her principles, de- 
pended on me alone." 

" Sire," said Las Casas, "this was the opinion generally entertained, and 
yet some parties reproached you for it, exclaiming with bitterness, 'Why 
would he connect every thing with himself personally V " 

"That was a vulgar accusation," resumed the Emperor, warmly. "My 
situation was not one of my own choosing, nor did it arise out of any fault 
of mine. It was produced entirely by the nature and force of circumstances, 
by the conflict of two opposite orders of things. Would the individuals who 
held this language, if indeed they were sincere, have preferred to go back to 
the period preceding Brumaire, when our internal dissolution was complete, 
foreififu invasion certain, and the destruction of France inevitable? From 
the anoment when we decided on the concentration of power which could 
alone save us, when we determined on the unity of doctrines and resources 
which rendered us a mighty nation, the destinies of France depended solely 
on the character, the measures, and the principles of him who had been in- 
vested with this accidental dictatorship. From that moment the public in- 
terest, the state, was myself. 

" These words, which I addressed to men who were capable of understand- 
ing them, wxre strongly censured by the narrow-minded and ill-disposed; 
but the enemy felt the full force of them, and therefore his first object was to 
effect my overthrow. The same outcry was raised against other words which 
I uttered in the sincerity of my heart — when I said that France stood more 
171 need of me than I stood in need of her. This solid truth was declared 
to be merely excess of vanity. But, my dear Las Casas, you now see that 
I can relinquish every thing, and as to what I endure here, my suffering can 
not be long. My life is limited ; but the existence of France — " Here the 
Emperor for a moment paused, silent tlirough excess of emotion. He then 
resumed, 

" The circumstances in which we were placed were extraordinary and un- 
precedented. It would be vain to seek for any parallel to them. I was my- 
self the keystone of an edifice totally new ! Its stability depended on each 
of my battles ! Had I been conquered at Marengo, France would have en- 
countered all the disasters of 1814 and 1815 without those prodigies of glory 
which succeeded, and which will be immortal. It was the same at Auster- 
litz and Jena, and again at Eylau and elsewhere. 

" The vulgar failed not to blame my ambition as the cause of all these 
wars ; but they were not of my choosing. They were produced by the na- 



372 



NAPOLEON AT ST HELENA. 



[CHAr. XXY. 




Ei'LAU AFTER THE BATTLE. 



tiire and force of events. They ai-ose out of that conflict between the past 
and the future, that constant and permanent coalition of our enemies, which 
obliged us to subdue under pain of being subdued." 

September 3. It was a cheerless day of wind and rain. The Emperor 
was sitting in his chamber, before a large fire, conversing with Count IMon- 
tholon and others of his friends, when some one chanced to remark that it 
was the third of September. 

It w^as during this period of terrible strife that Napoleon, surrounded by 
innumerable foes, passed a night in the wagoner's shop, meditating upon the 
inexpressible difficulties of his position. Nobly he resolved to endure every 
conceivable calamity rather than dishonor France and himself by acceding to 
those disgraceful terms wliicli his haughty foes demanded. 

"To-day," said the Emperor, "is the anniversary of a hideous remem- 



1816, September.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



373 




THE BMFIir.OR Hi THE WAGONER: 



iDrance ; of the massacres of September, the St. Bartholomew of the Frendi 
Tlevolution. The atrocities of the third of September were not committed 
under the sanction of government, which, on the contrary, used its endeavors 
to punish the crime. The massacres were committed by the mob of Paris, 
and were the result of fanaticism rather than of absolute brutality. The 
Septembriseurs did not pillage, they only wished to murder. They even 
hanged one of their own party for having appropriated a watch which be- 
longed to one of their victims. 

" This dreadful event arose out of the force of circumstances and the spirit 
of the moment. We must acknowledge that there has been no political 
change unattended by popular fury as soon as the masses enter into action. 
The Prussian army had amved within one hundred miles of Paris. The fa- 
mous manifesto of the Duke of Brunswick was placarded on all the walls of 
the city. The people had persuaded themselves that the death of all the Roy- 
alists in Paris was indispensable to the safety of the Revolution. They ran 
to the prisons and intoxicated themselves with blood, shouting Vive la liev- 
olution ! Their energy had an electric effect from the fear with which it in- 
spired one party, and the example which it gave to the other. One hundred 
thousand volunteers joined the army, and the Revolution was saved. 

" I might have preserved my crown by turning loose the masses of the 



374 NAPOLEON AT ST HELENA. [ClIAP. XXV. 

people against the advocates of the restoration. You well recollect, ]\Iontho- 
lon, when, at the head oi yowx faubour lens, jou wished to punish the treach- 
ery of Fouche, and proclaim my dictatorship. I did not choose to do so. 
My whole soul revolted at the thought of being king of another mob. As a 
general rule, no social revolution can take place without terror. Every revo- 
lution is in principle a revolt, which time and success ennoble and render le- 
gal, but of which terror has been one of tlie inevitable phases. How indeed 
can we say to those who possess fortune and public situations, '■Segone, and 
leave ^is your fortunes and your situations,^ without first intimidating them, 
and rendering any defense impossible. In France, this point was effected by 
the lantern and the guillotine. 

" The Reign of Terror began, in fact, on the night of the fourth of August, 
when privileges, nobility, titles, and feudal rights were abolisJied, and all 
these remains of the old monarchy were thrown to the people. Then only 
did the people understand the Revolution, and they Avished to preserve it 
even at the expense of blood. Till then, many of the peasants believed that, 
without a king and tithes to the clergy, the harvest could not be good. Bar- 
rere said truly, 'The people coin money upon the Place of Louis XVI.,' al- 
luding to the guillotine, which enriched the national treasury by the dcatli 
of the nobles, whose wealth became the property of the nation. 

" A revolution, whatever some may think, is one of the greatest calamities 
with which divine anger can punish a nation. It is the scourge of the gen- 
eration Avliich brings it about, and all the advant9.ges it secures can not com- 
pensate for the misery with which it is attended. It subverts every thing, 
and, at its commencement, brings misery to all and happiness to none. True 
social happiness consists in the harmonious and peaceful possession of the 
relative enjoyments of each class of people. In regular and tranquil times, 
every individual has his share of felicity. The cobbler in his stall is as con- 
tent as the king on his throne. Tlie soldier is not less happy than the gen- 
eral. The best-conducted revolutions brina; universal destruction in their 
train. This is the immediate effect. The advantages they produce are re- 
served for future ages. I gave millions every year to the poor. I made im- 
mense sacrifices to promote and assist industry, and yet France has more 
poor now than in 1787. 

" Our revolution was a national convulsion, as irresistible in its effects as 
an eruption of Vesuvius. When the mysterious fusion which takes place in 
the entrails of the earth is at such a crisis that an explosion follows, the erup- 
tion bursts forth. The unperceived workings of the discontent of the people 
follow exactly the same course. In France, the sufferings of the people, the 
moral combinations which produce a revolution, had arrived at maturity, and 
the explosion accordingly took place.*' 

" Do you think," said Las Casas, " that it would have been possible to 
suppress the Revolution at its birtli ?" 

" I do not think so," the Emperor replied. " Still, it is possible that the 
storm might have been averted by some great Machiavelian act — by striking 
with one hand the great ringleaders, and with the other making concessions 



1816, September.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 375 

to the nation, granting freely the reformation required hj the age. And yet, 
after all, this would only have been to guide and direct the Revolution. Be- 
sides, the education of Louis XVI., as well as his personal convictions, made 
him regard as belonging lawfully to him all that of which the nation wished 
to deprive him, and which he would have been obliged to give up voluntarily 
to put an end to the revolutionary movement. 

"At the time when the States were convoked, it was out of the power of 
man to prevent the Revolution. Thus I understood it in my youtli, and my 
opinion has not been changed by what I have learned and seen of royalty. 
A revolution can neither be made nor prevented. One or several of its chil- 
dren can direct it by dint of victories. Its enemies may repress it for a mo- 
ment by force of arms, but the fire of revolution glimmers under the ashes, 
and sooner or later the flame kindles again and devours all before it. 

" The Bourbons are greatly deceived if they believe themselves firmly 
seated on tlie throne of Hugh Capet. I do not know whether I shall ever 
again see Paris, but what I do know is, that the French people will one day 
break the sceptre which the enemies of France have confided to Louis XVIII. 
My son wiU reign if the popular masses are permitted to act without control. 
The crown will belong to the Duke of Orleans if those who are called Lib- 
erals gain the victory over the people. But, sooner or later, the people will 
discover that they have been deceived ; that the white are always white, the 
blue always blue, and that there is no guarantee for their true interests ex- 
cept under the reign of my dynasty, because it is the work of their creation. 

" I did not usurp the crown. I picked it up from the gutter ; the people 
placed it on my head. I was king of the people as the Bourbons are kings 
of the nobles, under whatever color they may disguise the banner of their 
ancestors. When, full of confidence in the sympathy of the nation, I return- 
ed from Elba, my advisers insisted that I ought to take notice of some chiefs 
of the royal party. I constantly refused, answering to those who gave me 
this advice, ' If I have remained in the hearts of the mass of the people, I 
have nothing to do with the Royalists ; if not, what will some, more or less, 
avail me to struggle against the opinion of the nation ?' " 

The clock struck eleven. " Gentlemen," said the Emperor, " we have had 
enough of politics for this evening." 

Septe77iber 5. Sir Hudson Lowe sent Major Gorrequer to Longwood to in- 
form Count Montholon that the expenses must be reduced. 

"When the British government," said the major, "fixed forty thousand 
dollars as the maximum of the expense of General Bonaparte's establish- 
ment, they contemplated a great reduction of the persons composing it by the 
general officers and others returning to Europe. As this reduction has not 
taken place, the governor is willing to allow sixty thousand dollars a year for 
all expenses. Nothing more than this can be allowed. Any additional ex- 
pense General Bonaparte must pay himself by bills drawn upon some banker 
in Europe." 

While Sir Hudson Lowe was ordering that the expenditures at Longwood 
should be reduced to sixty thousand dollars a year, he at the same time 



37G NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXV. 

transmitted a calculation to Lord Bathurst to prove that the existing estab- 
lishment could not be supported for less than about seventy-live thousand 
dollars, even with the most rigid economy. 

"The Emperor," Count ]Montholon replied, "is ready to pay all the ex- 
penses of the establishment if any mercantile or bankhig-house in St. Helena, 
London, or Paris, chosen by the British govennnent itself, can serve as in- 
termediators, through Avlioni the Emperor can send sealed letters and receive 
sealed answers. On the one side, the Emperor will pledge his honor that the 
letters shall relate solely to pecuniary matters, and the correspondence shall 
be held equally sacred on the other part." 

" No sealed letters," said the major, " can be suffered to leave Longwood. 
The reductions will commence on the 15th of the present month. After that 
date but five thousand dollars a niontli will be allowed." 

The expenses of the establishment at Longwood, even with all the priva- 
tions and discomforts to which the exiles were exposed, amounted to one 
hundred thousand dollars a year. It was now demanded that the Emperor 
should either pay forty thousand dollars each year, or send away from the 
island many of those friends wliose devotion alone cheered his weary hours. 
The English government, which had already emptied Napoleon's trunks, 
seemed very anxious to ascertain where he had any treasure deposited in 
Europe. 

"It is clear," said Sir Henry Bunbury, in a letter to Sir Hudson Lowe, 
" that the ex-Emperor has large sums |)t' money in different parts, and that 
his agents have lodged money on his account in the principal to^nis of 
America as Avell as in England, with the hope of his being able to get at one 
or other of their deposits. We have been unable hitherto to obtain any 
clue to this matter. It is very desirable to discover both the treasure and 
the agents." 

Under such circumstances, it was indeed absurd, nay, savage, to endeavor 
to torture the Emperor to draw for funds through Sir Hudson Lowe. 

/September 6. It was a dark and stormy day. The Emperor retired with 
Las Casas to the library, and entered into a long and confidential conversa- 
tion. 

" We have now," said he, " been in captivity more than a year ; and how 
many mortifications have I to encounter ! A victim to the persecutions of 
Fate and man, I am assailed on every side and at all hands. ]\Iy whole body 
is covered with w^ounds. Even you, my ftiithfiil friends and consolers, help 
to increase my anguish. Your jealousies and your contentions afHict me 
sorely." 

" Sire," Las Casas replied, " these things should remain unnoticed by 
your majesty. In all that concerns you, our jealousy is merely emulation. 
All our dissension ceases on the expression of your shghtest wish. We live 
only for you." 

At the dinr|^r-table, speaking of jVIadam de ]\raintenon, Avhose letters he 
had been reading during the day, the Emperor said, 

" I am charmed with her style, her grace, and the purity of her language. 



1816, September.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 377 

If I am violently offended with what is bad, I am, at the same time, exqui- 
sitely sensible to what is good. I think I prefer Madam de Maintenon's Let- 
ters to those of Madam de Sevigny. They communicate more. Madam de 
Sevigny will certainly always remain the true model of the epistolary style. 
She has a thousand charms and graces. But there is this defect in her writ- 
ings, that one may read a great deal of them without retaining any impression 
of what one has read. They are like a dish of egg snow-balls, of which a 
man may eat till he is tired without overcharging his stomach." 

September 7. Governor Lowe rode up to Long wood with General Meade, 
who had just arrived at St. Helena, and with a numerous suite, and pointed 
out the precautions adopted to secure the prisoner. The insulted and out- 
raged Emperor passed the day in his chamber, reading. He was perusing a 
work upon the state of England. As Las Casas entered, the policy of En- 
gland became the topic of conversation. 

"The colonial system," said the Emperor, "is now at an end for all — for 
England, who possesses every colony, and for the other powers, who possess 
none. The empire of the seas now belongs indisputably to England ; and 
why should she, in a new situation, wish to continue the old system ? Why 
does she not adopt plans that would be more profitable to her ? She must 
look forward to a sort of emancipation of her colonies. In course of time, 
many will doubtless escape from her dominion, and she should therefore avail 
herself of the present moment to obtain new securities and more advanta- 
geous connections. 

" Why does she not propose that the majority of her colonies shall pur- 
chase their emancipation by taking upon themselves a portion of the general 
debt, which would thus become specially theirs ? The mother country would 
by this means relieve herself of her burdens, and would, nevertheless, preserve 
all her advantages. She would retain as pledges the faith of treaties, recip- 
rocal interests, similitude of language, and the force of habit. She might, 
moreover, reserve, by way of guarantee, a single fortified point, a harbor for 
her ships, after the manner of the factories on the coast of Africa. What 
would she lose ? Nothing ; and she would spare herself the trouble and ex- 
pense of an administration which too often serves only to render her odious. 
Her ministers, it is true, would have fewer places to give away, but the nation 
would certainly be no loser. 

"I doubt not that, with a thorough knowledge of the subject, some use- 
ful result might be derived from the ideas which I have just thrown out, how- 
ever erroneous they may be in their first hasty conception. Even with re- 
gard to India, great advantages might be obtained by the adoption of new 
systems. The English who are here assure me that England derives nothing 
from India in the balance of trade ; the expenses swallow up, and even ex- 
ceed, the profits. It is, therefore, merely a source of individual advantage, 
and of a few private fortunes of colossal magnitude ; but these are so much 
food for ministerial patronage, and therefore good care is taken-aiot to meddle 
with them. 

" These nabobs, as they are styled on their return to England, are useful 



378 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXV. 

recruits to the aristocracy. It signifies not that they bear the disgrace of 
iiaving acquired fortunes by rapine or pkmder, or that they exercise a bane- 
ful influence on public morals by exciting in others the wish to gain the same 
"vvealth by the same means. The present ministers are not so scrupulous as 
to bestow a thought on such matters. These men give them their votes, and 
the more corrupt they are, the more easily are they controlled. In this state 
of things, where is the hope of reform ? On the least proposition of amend- 
ment, what an outcry is raised ! The Englisli aristocracy is daily taking a 
stride in advance, but as soon as there is any proposal for retrograding, were 
it only for the space of an inch, a general explosion takes place. If the mi- 
nutest details be touched, the whole edifice begins to totter. Tliis is very 
natural. If you attempt to deprive a glutton of his mouthful, he will defend 
himself like a hero-" 

At another time the Emperor said, " The national debt is the worm that 
preys on England ; it is the chain of all her difficulties. It occasions the 
enormity of taxation, and this, in its turn, raises the price of provisions. 
Hence the distress of the people, the higli price of labor and of manufactured 
articles, which are not disposed of with equal advantage in tlie Continental 
markets. England then ought, at all hazards, to contend against this de- 
vouring monster. She should assail it on all sides, and at once subdiie it 
negatively and 2^ositively, that is to say, by the reduction of her expenditure 
and the increase of her capital. 

" Can she not reduce the interest of her debt, the high salaries, the sine- 
cures, and the various expenses attending her army establishment, and re- 
nounce the latter in order to confine herself to her navy ? In short, many 
things might be done which I can not now enter into. Witli regard to tlic 
increase of her capital, can she not enrich herself with tlie ecclesiastical prop- 
erty, Avhich is immense, and which she would acquire by a salutary reform, 
and by the extinction of titular dignities, which would give offense to no one? 
But if a word be uttered on this subject, the whole aristocracy is in commo- 
tion, and succeeds in putting down the opposition ; for in England it is the 
aristocracy that governs and for which the government acts. They repeat 
the favorite adage that if the least stone of the old foundation be touched, 
the whole fabric will fall to the ground. This is devoutly re-echoed by the 
multitude ; consequently, reform is stopped, and abuses are suffered to in- 
crease and multiply. 

" It is but just to acknowledge that, in spite of a compoundof odious, mean, 
and antiquated details, the English Constitution presents the singular phe- 
nomenon of a grand and happy result ; and the advantages arising out of it 
secure the attachment of the mixltitude, who are fearful of losing any of tlic 
blessings they enjoy. But is it to the objectionable nature of the details that 
this result must be attributed ? On the contrary, it would shine with in- 
creased lustre if the grand and beautiful machine were freed from its mis- 
i;hievous appendages. 

"England presents an example of the dangerous effects of the borrowing 
system. I would never listen to any hints for the adoption of tliat system 



1816, September.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 379 

in France. I was always a firm opposer of it. It was said at the time that 
I contracted no loans for want of credit, and because I could lind no one 
willing to lend ; but this was false. Those who know any thing of mankind 
and the spirit of stock-jobbing, will be convinced that loans may always be 
raised by holding out the chance of gain and the attraction of speculation. 
But this was no part of my system, and by a special law I fixed the amount 
of the public debt at what had generally been supposed to be conducive to 
the general prosperity, namely, at eighty millions [$16,000,000] for France 
in her utmost extent and after the union with Holland, which in itself pro- 
duced an augmentation of twenty millions [$4,000,000]. This sum was 
reasonable and proper. A greater one would have been attended by mis- 
chievous consequences. What was the result of this system ? What re- 
sources have I left behind me ? France, after so many gigantic efforts and 
terrible disasters, is now more prosperous than ever. Her finances are the 
first in Europe. To whom and to what are these advantages to be attributed ? 

" So far was I from wishing to swallow up the future, that I had resolved 
to leave a treasury behind me. I had even formed one, the funds of which 
I lent to different banking-houses, embarrassed families, and the individuals 
who were about my person. I should not only have carefully preserved the 
sinking fund, but I calculated on having, in course of time, surpluses which 
would have been constantly increasing, and which might have been actively 
applied for the furtherance of public works and improvements. I should 
have had the fund of the empire for general works, the fund of the depart- 
ments for local works, and the fund of the communes for municipal works." 

In another conversation the Emperor remarked, " England is said to traf- 
fic in every thing ; why, then, does she not sell liberty, for which she might 
get a high price without any fear of exhausting her own stock ; for modern 
liberty is essentially moral, and does not betray its engagements. For ex- 
ample, what would not the poor Spaniards give her to free them from the 
yoke to which they have been again subjected ? I am confident they would 
willingly pay any price to recover their freedom. It was I who inspired them 
with this sentiment, and the error into which I fell might be turned to good 
account by another government. As to the Italians, I have planted in their 
breasts principles that never can be rooted out. What can England do bet- 
ter than to promote and assist the noble impulses of modern regeneration ? 

" Sooner or later this regeneration must be accomplished. Sovereigns 
and old aristocratic institutions may exert their efforts to oppose it, but in 
vain. They are dooming themselves to the punishment of Sisyphus. But, 
sooner or later, some arm will tire of resistance, and then the whole system 
will fall to nothing. Would it not be better to yield with a good grace ? 
This was my intention. Why does England refuse to avail herself of the 
glory and advantage she ought to derive from this course of proceeding? 
Every thing passes away in England as well as elsewhere. Castlereagh's 
administration will pass away, and that which may succeed it, and which is 
doomed to inherit the fruit of so many errors, may become great by only dis- 
continuing the system that has hitherto been pursued. 



380 NAPOLEON AT ST HELENA. [ChAP. XXV. 

*' He who may happen to be placed at the head of the Enghsli cabinet lias 
merely to allow things to take their course, and to obey the winds that blow. 
By becoming the leader of liberal principles, instead of leaguing with abso- 
lute power, like Castlereagh, he will render himself tlie object of universal 
benediction, and England will forget her wrongs. Fox was capable of so 
acting, but Pitt Avas not. The reason Is, that in Fox the heart warmed the 
genius, while in Pitt the genius withered the heart. 

" But it may be asked wliy I, all-powerful as 1 was, did not pursue the 
course I have traced out ? how, since I can speak so well, I could have acted 
so ill ? I re})ly to those who make this inquiry with sincerity, that there is 
no comparison between my situation and that of the English government. 
England may work on a soil which extends to the very bowels of the earth, 
while I cotild labor only on a sandy surface. England reigns over an estab- 
lished order of tilings, while I had to take upon myself the great charge, the 
immense difiiculty of consolidating and establisliing. I purified a revolu- 
tion In spite of hostile factions. I combined together all the scattered ben- 
efits that could be preserved, but I Avas obliged to protect them with a nerv- 
ous arm against the attacks of all parties. In this situation, it may truly be 
said that the public interest, the state, was myself. 

" Foreign nations, in arms, assailed our principles, and. In the name of these 
very principles, I was assailed by enemies at home. Had I relaxed in the 
least degree, Ave should soon have been brought back to the time of the Direct- 
ory. I should have been the object, and France the Infallible victim, of a 
counter JBrumalre. We are In our nature so restless and inconsiderate, if 
twenty revolutions Avere to ensue, Ave should have tAventy constitutions. This 
is one of the subjects that are studied most and observed the least. We have 
much need to groAV older in this great and glorious path, for here our great 
men have all shoAvn themselves to be mere children. Heaven grant that tlio 
present generation may profit by the faults that have been committed hither- 
to, and prove as wise as it is enthusiastic !" 

" To-day," Avrites Las Casas, "the gOA'crnor commenced his grand reduc- 
tions, and it was tliought proper to deprlA'^e us of eight English domestics, 
who had formerly been granted to us. To the servants this was a subject 
of deep regret. It Avas gratifying to us to observe that we Avon the regard 
of all Avho Avere pennitted to approach us. We are noAV absolutely in Avant 
of daily necessaries, to supply Avhich the Emperor proposes to dispose of his 
plate. This is his only resource." 

At night the Emperor, suffering from a A'iolent headache, sent for Dr. 
O'Meara. " He Avas sitting," says O'Meara, " in his bed-room, with only a 
wood fire burning, the flames of Avhich, alternately blazing and sinking, gave 
at moments a most singular and melancholy expression to his countenance, 
as he sat opposite it, Avith his hands crossed upon his knees, probably reflect- 
ing upon his forlorn condition." 

The Emperor Avas silent for a moment after his physician entered, and 
then said, in pensive tpnes, 

" Doctor, have you any opiate AAdaich Avill give sleep to the sleepless ? 



181G, September.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 381 

But this is beyond your art. I have been trying in vain to procure a little 
rest. I can not comprehend the conduct of your ministers. They go to the 
expense of three hundred thousand dollars in sending out furniture, wood, 
and building materials for ray use, and, at the same time, send orders to put 
me nearly on rations, and oblige me to discharge my servants, and make re- 
ductions incompatible with the decency and comfort of the liouse. Then we 
have aid-de-camps making stipulations about a bottle of wine and two or 
three pounds of meat with as much gravity and consequence as if they were 
treating about the distribution of kingdoms. I see contradictions that I can 
not reconcile ; on the one hand, enormous and useless expenditure ; on the 
other, unparalleled meanness and littleness. 

" Why do they not allow me to provide myself with every thing instead 
of disgracing the character of the nation ? They will not furnish my follow- 
ers with what tliey have been accustomed to, nor will they allow me to pro- 
vide for them by sending scaled letters through a mercantile house even of 
their own selection ; for no man in France would answer a letter of mine 
when he knew that it would be read by the English ministers, and that he 
would consequently be denounced to the Bourbons, and his property and 
person exposed to certain destruction. 

" Moreover, your ministers have not given a specimen of good faith in 
seizing upon the trifling sums of money that I had in the Belleroplhon. This 
gives reason to suppose that they Avould do the same again, if they knew 
where any of my property was placed. It must be to deceive the English 
nation. The English people, seeing all this furniture sent out, and so much 
parade and show in tlic preparations made in England, conclude that I am 
well treated here. If they knew the truth, and the dishonor which it reflects 
upon them, they would not suffer it. 

"But who," the Emperor continued, "was that general officer who was 
with the governor to-day ?" 

" It was General Meade," said Dr. O'Meara, " who, with Mrs. Meade, ar- 
rived a few days ago. I was under his command in Egypt, where he was 
severely wounded." 

"What sort of a man is he?" 

" He bears a very excellent character." 

"That governor," continued the Emperor, "was seen stopping him fre- 
quently, and pointing in different directions. I suppose he has been filling 
his head with falsehood about me, and has told him that I hate the sio;ht of 
every l^nglishman, as was told to the officers of the 53d. I shall order a 
letter to be written to tell him that I will see him." 

After O'Meara had retired, the Emperor again endeavored to obtain some 
sleep, but finding all his efforts in vain, about midnight he sent for Las Ca- 
sas, and for two hours engaged with him in confidential conversation. 

Sejjtemhar 8. The Emperor had no sleep through the night, and at an 
early hour in the morning, depressed and languid, breakfasted with his friends 
in the tent. It was a pleasant day, and he rode out in the calash. The 
conversation turned upon tlie Emperor's court at the Tuileries. 



382 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXY. 

"It i.g more difficult," said Napoleon, "than is generally supposed, to 
speak to every one in a crowded assemblage, and yet say nothing to any one ; 
to seem to know a multitude of people, nine tenths of whom are utter stran- 
gers to you. Now that I am reduced to the level of a mere private individ- 
ual, and can reflect philosophically upon the time when I was called to exe- 
cute the designs of Providence, without, however, ceasing to he a man, I can 
see how much the fate of those I governed really depended upon chance, and 
how often favor and credit were purely accidental. Intrigue is so dexterous 
and merit often so maladroit ; these extremes approximate so closely to each 
other, that, with the best intentions in the world, I find that my benefits were 
distributed like prizes in a lottery ? And yet, could I have (^ iie better ? Was 
I faulty in my intentions or remiss in my exertions ? Have other sover- 
eigns done better than I did ? It is only thus that I can be judged. The 
fault was in the nature of my situation and in the force of things." 

" A vessel which had come from the Caj)e," says Las Casas, " sailed for 
Europe this day. Several English military officers, who were passengers on 
board this ship, had not been permitted to wait upon the Emperor, in spite 
of their repeated solicitations. This was a new instance of the governor's 
malevolence. These officers were men of distinction, and their rejiort, on 
their return home, might have had some influence. Tlic governor, in defi- 
ance of all truth, informed them that Napoleon had determined to see no one." 

The Emperor consequently requested Count Montholon to write a note to 
General JMeade, inviting him to call at Longwood. A verbal message was 
also, at the same time, sent to Lady ]\Ieade, that, though the Emperor could 
not, in courtesy, invite a lady to come and sec him, still he should be most 
happy to see her. According to the regulations, this note was presented 
open to Sir Hudson Lowe by the English orderly officer at Longwood, Cap- 
tain Poppleton. The governor handed the note to General Meade. In re- 
ply. General Meade stated in a note to Count Montholon that there were re- 
strictions in the way, which would render it necessary for him to apply to 
the governor for permission, and that the vessel was ready to sail, and he 
could not detain her. 

Sejiteniher 9. The Emperor, suflering from chills and fever, and severe 
colic, sent for Dr. O'JVIeara. Alluding to the note of apology from General 
Meade to Count ]\Iontholon, expressing his inability to accept the invitation 
which had been given the day before, Napoleon said, 

" I am convinced that, in reality, he was prevented by the governor. 
When you see him, you may say that I think that he prevented General 
Meade from cominc; to see me." 

At an early hour Las Casas called. The Emperor, sleepless, appetiteless, 
dejected, and in pain, was lying upon the sofa, Avith a fire burning on the 
liearth. He gradually became animated as in conversation he retraced the 
(iventful and marvelous past. Speaking of the large sums he had conferred 
upon those about him, he said, 

" It would be difficult to estimate all that I bestowed in that way. I 
might, on more than one occasion, have been accused of profuseness, and I 



(816, September.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 383 

dm grieved to see that it has been of little use in any respect. There must 
certainly have been some fatality on my part, or some essential defect in the 
individuals whom I favored. What a difficulty was I placed in! It can 
not be believed that my extravagance was caused by personal vanity. To 
act the part of an Asiatic monarch was not a thing to my taste. I was not 
actuated either by vanity or caprice ; every thing was with me a matter of 
calculation. Though certain individuals might be favorites with me, yet I 
did not wish to lavish my bounty on them merely because I liked them. I 
wished to found through them great families, who might form rallying-points 
in great national crises. The great officers of my household, as well as all 
my ministers, independently of their enormous salaries, often received from 
me handsome gratifications, sometimes complete services of plate. 

" What was my object in this profuseness ? I required that they should 
maintain elegant establishments, give grand dinners and brilliant balls. And 
why did I wish this ? In order to amalgamate parties, to form new unions, 
to smooth down old asperities, and to give a character to French society and 
manners. If I conceived good ideas, they miscarried in the execution. 
JSTone of my chief courtiers ever kept up a suitable establishment. If they 
gave dinners, they only invited their party friends, and when I attended their 
•expensive balls, whom did I find there ? All the court of the Tuileries — not 
a new face, not one of those who were offended at the new system — those 
sullen malcontents, whom a little honey would have brought back to the 
hive. They could not enter into my views, or did not wish to do so. In 
vain I expressed displeasure, entreated, and commanded : things still went on 
in the game way. I could not be every where at once, and they knew that. 
And yet it was affirmed that I ruled with a rod of iron. How, then, must 
things go under gentle sovereigns ?" 

Sejyteonher 10. Dr. O'Meara had an interview with Sir Hudson Lowe. 

"Has General Bonaparte," inquired the governor, "made any observa- 
tions relative to General Meade's nOt having accepted the offer made to 
him?" 

" He says," O'Meara replied, " that he is convinced that you prevented 
him from accepting it, and desired me to say to you that such was his opin- 
ion." 

The countenance of this vulgar man turned pale with rage. " He is a 
d — d lying rascal, a d — d black-hearted villain. I wished General Meade to 
accept it, and told him to do so." Walking about in an agitated manner, he 
continued, " None but a black-hearted villain would have entertained such 
an idea." Then, mounting his horse, he rode away; he had not, however, 
proceeded more than a hundred steps, before he wheeled round, and came 
back, and said, in emphatic tones of anger, " Tell General Bonaparte that 
the assertion that I prevented General Meade from going to see him is an in- 
famous lie, and the person who said it is a great liar. Tell him my exact 
words." 

"It is unnecessary for me to say," continues Dr. O'Meara, "that I did 
not deliver this message in the manner in which I was directed to convey it." 



384 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [Chap. XXV. 

September 12. Two of the inmates of Lougwood had rode to town a few 
days before, to call upon the French and Kussian connnissioners. An En- 
glish otHcer was onlered to follow them, and keep them constantly in sight. 
In consequence of some misunderstanding, they received treatment which 
they considered a gross insult. Speaking of this misunderstanding, the Em- 
peror said, 

" What I complain of is the disingenuous manner in which they act in or- 
der to prevent any of the French from going to town. A\'hy do they not 
say at once manfully, ' You can not go to town,' and then nobody will ask, 
instead of converting officers into spies and gendarmes by making them fol- 
low the French and listen to their conversation? But their design is to throw 
so many impediments in the way, and to render it so disagreeable to us as 
to amount to a prohibition, without giving any direct orders. Thus this gov- 
ernor Avill be enabled to say that we have the liberty of the town, but that 
we do not choose to avail ourselves of it." 

The Emjicror continued seriously sick. His naiTOW camp bed, so small 
that he could hardly turn himself in it, was poorly adapted for hours of rest- 
lessness and pain. lie ordered his camp bed to be earned into his cabinet 
and placed beside a sofa, so as to increase his comforts in the tossings of 
sleepless nights. To such privations was the Emperor driven from the sa- 
loons of the Tuileries. 

lSej)tev}J>er 13. The Emperor, tliough apparently no better, having eaten 
nothing for three days, and drinking only a little warm lemonade, rose from 
his bed, declaring that he would indulge in sickness no longer. He repaired 
to the drawing-room, and for two or three hours dictated to one of his suite. 
General Bertrand entering. Napoleon asked him how he thought he looked. 
"' Only a little yellow," the general replied. The Emperor burst into a laugh, 
and rising, gooil-humoredly pursued the general into the saloon to catch him 
by the ear, exclaiming, 

" Rather yellow, indeed ! Do you intend to insult me, grand marshal ? 
Do you mean to say that I am bilious, moi'ose, atrabllarlous, passionate, un- 
just, tyrannical i Let me catch hold of your ear, and I will take my re- 
veng-e." 

Dinner hour arrived. The Emperor took some slight refreshment in his 
own room, and then returned to the dining-room while his friends were at the 
table. Observing their scanty fare, for Sir Hudson Lowe was determined to 
starve them into terms, he said, " I really pity you." He immediately gave 
orders that a portion of his plate should be sold every month to supply what 
was necessary for the table. 



\ 



1816, September.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 385 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

1810, September. Continued. 

Scarcity of Food — The Emperor's Freedom from Animosity — The Bourbons — On ImpossibiUties — 
StatiKtical GaicuiationK — Sale of Plate — Fresh Vexations — Debt of St. Domingo — Plans of Ad- 
ministration — On Sensibility — Holland and King Louis — The Emperor's Family — liusiness 
Habits of the Emperor — Treasures of Napoleon. 

Sapterahar 14. Tlic J*]mperor wan in much better health, and spent much 
of the day dictating. "At dinner," says Las Casas, " wo had literally hard- 
ly any thing to eat. The Emperor ordered some additional provisions to be 
purchased and ])aid for out of the sale of his plate." 

Ill the evening lie sent for Las Casas, and said to him, 

" I am not inclined to sleep, and I sent for you to help me keep my vigil. 
Let us have a little chat together." 

The conversation turned, as usual, upon the wonderful drama of the past. 

" They may explain this as tlicy will," said the Emperor, " but 1 assure 
you I never entertained any direct or personal hatred of those whoso power 
I subverted. To me it was merely a political contest. I was astonished to 
find my heart free of animosity, and, I. may add, animated by good-will to- 
ward \x\j enemies. You saw how I released tlie Duke d'Angouleme ; and I 
would have done the same Ijy the king, and even liavc granted lam an asylum 
of his own choosing. The triumph of the cause in no way depended on his 
person, and I respected his age and his misfortunes. Perhaps, also, 1 felt 
grateful for a certain degree of consideration whicli he, in particular, had ob- 
served toward me. It is true that, at the moment to which I am now allud- 
ing, he had, I believe, outlawed me, and set a price on my head ; but I looked 
upon all this as belonging to the manifesto style. The same kind of de- 
nunciations were also issued by the Austrian government, without, however, 
giving me much uneasiness, though I must confess that my dear father-in- 
law was rather too severe on the husband of his beloved daughter." 

A iii^N weeks before this, an English officer, who was presented to the Em- 
peror, speaking of the return from Elba, said, 

" That astonishing event presented to the eyes of Europe the contrast of 
all that was most feeble and most sublime — the Bourbons abandoning a mon- 
archy and flying on the approach of a single man, who, by his own individual 
efforts, boldly undertook the conquest of an empire." 

" Sir," said the Emperor, "you are mistaken. You have taken a wrong 
view of the matter. The Bourbons were not wanting in courage. They did 
all they could. The Count d'Artois flew to Lyons. The Duchess d'Angou- 
leme proved herself an Amazon in Bordeaux ; and tlie iJuke d'Angouleme 
offered as much resistance as he could. If, in spite of all this, they could 
attain no satisfactory object, the fault must not be attributed to them, but to 

B]j 



386 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXVI. 

the force of circumstances. The Boiirbons, individually, could do no more 
than they really did. The contagion had spread in every direction."' 

Septt'inbt')' IG. "In the niornhig,*' says Las Casas, "my servant came to 
tell me that there was neither cotiee, sugar, milk, nor bread for breaklast. 
Yesterday, some hours before dinner, feelinc: hunsrrv, I asked for a mouthful 
of bread, and was told there was none for me. Thus Ave are denied the very 
necessaries of life. The fact will scarcely be credited, and yet I have stated 
nothing but the truth.'' 

It was a tine day, and the Emperor, though tottering with Aveakncss, walked 
out into the garden. As he was walldng about. Madam Montholon drove 
away a dog that had come near lier. 

" You do not like dogs, madam V inquired the Emperor. 

"No, sire," she replied. 

"If you do not like dogs," the Emperor playfully rejoined, "you do not 
Uke iidelity, you do not like those who are attached to you, and therefore you 
are not taithful."' 

" But — but — '' said ]Madam ^lontholon, in embarrassment. 

" But — but — " repeated the Emperor, " where is the error of my logic ? 
Refute my arguments if you can.*' 

One of the Emperor's suite had, a few days before, proposed making some 
chemical experiments. The Emperor inquired whether he had obtained suc- 
cess. "No, sire," was the reply; "I could not procure tlie necessary ap- 
paratus." 

" A true child of the Seine," exclaimed the Emperor ; " an absolute Paris- 
ian cockney ! Do you think you are still at the Tuileries ? True industry 
does not consist in executing by known and given means. The proof of art 
and genius is to accomplish an object in spite of ditheidties, and to tind little 
or no impossihility. But what do you complain of? The Avant of a pestle, 
when the spar of any chair might answer the same pui^pose ? The want of a 
mortar ? Any thing is a mortar that you choose to make use of. This ta- 
ble is a mortar — any pot or kettle is a mortar ! Do you thuik that you are 
still in the Rue St. Honore, amid all the shops in Paris ?" 

"This reminds me," said Genei*al Bertrand, "of something Avhich occur- 
red the first time I had the honor of being presented to your majesty. I was 
about to leave the army of Italy to proceed on a mission to Constantinople, 
when you gave me a commission relative to the department of engineers. On 
my return, I came up Avith you at a short distance from head-quarters, and I 
informed you that I had found the thing impossible. On this, your majesty, 
whom I had addressed Avith great dithdence, said, AA-ith the most famihar air, 

" ' But let us see hoAV you set to Avork, sir. That Avhich a'OU found im- 
possible may not be so to me.' 

" Accordingly, AA'hen I mentioned the means by Avhich I proposed to exe- 
cute Avhat your majesty Avishcd, you immediately substituted others. In a 
fcAv moments I Avas perfectly convinced of tlie superiority of your majesty's 
plans. And this circumstance furnislied me Avith sentiments and recollections 
which have since proved very useful to me." 



1816, SeptemLer.J RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 337 

SejJtemher 18. The record of" this day illustrates the peculiar intellectual 
activity of the Emperor, and the wide range of his thoughts. His sallow and 
wasted cheeks proclaimed his failing health, and he was so feeble that the 
promenade of a few moments exhausted him. It was a line day. The Em- 
peror took a short walk in the garden, and then breakfasted with all his com- 
panions in the tent. He then rode for an hour in his calash, and on his re- 
turn engaged in his studies. He dictated, in turns, to Las Casas and to Gen- 
•eral Bertrand. Las Casas aided him, in the library, in searching for docu- 
ments which would give information respecting the interior of Africa. After 
dinner he was engaged, with the pen in his hand, in investigating the com- 
parative production of the soils of Egypt and France. He found the pro- 
duction of France to be greatly inferior to that of Egypt. This investigation 
gave rise to otiicr corresponding questions, such as, Wliat was the probable 
possible population of Egypt in ancient times ? What might have been the 
population of the Israelites, if, during the short period they remained in cap- 
tivity, they had increased to the degree mentioned in Scripture ? The Em- 
peror also made many ingenious, novel, and striking remarks upon the 
probabilities of human life, suggested by Puchet^s Statistical Estimates of 
France. 

Las Casas was requested to investigate the question of the population of 
the Israelites compared with the Mosaic account. This calculation inter- 
ested the Emperor exceedingly. He scrutinized it with great acumen, and 
found that it confirmed the Scripture narrative. During dinner he exercised 
himself in the English language by questioning young Las Casas in that lan- 
guage upon points of history and geometry. After dinner he took up the 
Odyssey, and read with comments to his companions. Such was the em- 
ployment of a sick day with the Emperor Napoleon. Such was the charac- 
ter of the man whom the nobles of England tore from France, and chained, 
to die m protracted torments, upon the rock of St. Helena. The crime is too 
great for human nature to pardon. 

Dr. O'Meara records, "Major Gorrequer, in the course of conversation 
with me relative to the provisioning of Longwood, said that Sir Hudson Lowe 
had observed that any soldiers who would attend at Longwood as servants 
of General Bonaparte were unworthy of rations." 

September 19. The Emperor spent the morning collecting from modern 
authors information on the sources of the Nile. He took a short ride in the 
calash, and on his return examined a large basket of plate which was broken 
up, and which was to be sent to town and sold the next day. A very natu- 
ral pride made the Emperor unwilling that the pieces of this beautiful serv- 
ice, the tokens of his power and of his fall, should be hawked about Europe 
as curiosities. Though five hundred dollars were offered for a single plate, 
he ordered the arms to be erased, and the pieces to be broken up into masses 
of silver, so as to leave no trace of the plate having belonged to him. The 
dish covers were topped with small eagles of solid silver. The Emperor 
characteristically would not have the eagles injured. They were cut off and 
carefully laid aside. The grief of the servants in applying the hammer to 



388 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXVI. 

these objects of their veneration, associated as they were with their homage 
to the Emperor, was sincere and deep. It seemed to them hkc sacrilege. 
Many ol" tliem shed tears on the occasion. 

SeptetJiber 20. It was a lovely morning, and at eight o'clock the Emperor 
walked out into the garden. He breaklasted in his tent, and then dictated 
to General Gourgaud the relation of the battle of JMarengo. At three o'clock 
he called into the room of Las Casas, and finding him revising the account 
of the battle of Areola, wished to read it again. The perusal of this account 
awakened his ideas relative to what he called that beautiful sj)oty Italy. 

He requested Las Casas and his son to follow him into the drawing-room, 
where he dictated to them for several hours. He caused his immense map 
of Italy, wliich covered the greater part of the drawing-room, to be spread 
open on the floor. Having laid himself down upon it, he went over it on his 
hands and his knees with a compass and a pencil in his hand, comparing and 
measuring the distances witli a long piece of string. 

" It is thus," said the Emperor, laughing, " that a country should be meas- 
ured in order to form a correct idea of it, and to lay down a good plan for a 
campaign." 




.^^jS&.Vi-"^'-' 



THE EMPEROR DICTATING. 



" We have experienced to-day," Las Casas records, " a fresh and incon- 
ceivable vexation from tlie governor. He has forbidden us to sell our plate, 
when broken up, to any other person than the one he should point out. 



1816, September.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 389 

What can have been his intention in committing this new act of injustice ?" 
The purchaser of the plate was also forbidden to pay the money to any of 
the suite of General Bonaparte, but was ordered to deposit it with Mr. Bal- 
combe, the English agent for the supply of Longwood. 

SejJtember 21. Admiral Malcolm, who was about to sail from St. Helena 
to the Cape of Good Hope, called to take leave of his friends at Longwood. 
He was much esteemed by them all, and he had a long and very friendly in- 
terview with the Emperor. 

After dinner the conversation turned upon what the Emperor termed the 
celebrated debt of St. Domingo. It gave rise to the following curious details : 

" The administrator of St. Domingo," said the Emperor, " took it into his 
head one day to draw from the Cape, without authority, the sum of sixty 
millions [$12,000,000] in bills on the treasury of Paris, which bills were all 
payable the same day. France was not then, and had, perhaps, never been, 
rich enough to meet such a demand. Besides, where and by what means 
had the administration of St. Domingo acquired so much credit ? The First 
Consul could not command any thing like it in Paris. It was as much as 
M. Necker could have done at the time of his greatest popularity. When 
these bills appeared in Paris, where they arrived before the letters of advice, 
I was applied to from the treasury to point out what was to be done. ' Wait 
for the letters of advice,' said I, 'in order to learn the nature of the transac- 
tion. The treasury is like a capitalist ; it possesses the same rights, and 
should follow the same course. These bills are not accepted ; they are, con- 
sequently, not payable.' 

" The necessary information and the vouchers arrived. These bills stated 
value received, but the receipts of the officers in charge of the chests, into 
whose hands the money had been paid, were only for one tenth, one fifth, 
one third the amount of the respective bills. The treasury, therefore, would 
only acknowledge and refund the sum really and bona fide paid, and the 
bills, in their tenor, were declared to be false. This raised a great clamor, 
and produced a terrible agitation among the merchants. A deputation wait- 
ed upon me, and I opened the business at once. 

" ' Do you take me for a child ?' said I. ' Do you think that I will thus 
sport with the purest blood of the people, or that I am so indifferent a guard- 
ian of the public interest ? What I refuse to give up does not affect me per- 
sonally, does not trench upon my civil list ; but it is public property, of 
which I am the guardian, and which is the more sacred in my eyes on that 
account.' 

"I then addressed myself directly to the two persons at the head of the 
deputation, saying, ' You, gentlemen, who are merchants, bankers, men of 
business, give me a positive answer. If one of your agents abroad were to 
draw upon you for very large sums, contrary to your expectations and to 
your interests, would you accept, would you pay his bills?' They were 
obliged to admit that they would not. 

" ' Then,' said I, ' you, who are simple proprietors, and, in the right of your 
majority, responsible to yourselves only, would wish to possess a right which 



390 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXYI. 

you refuse to allow me, proprietor in the name of all, and who am, in that 
quality, always a minor, and subject to revision ! No, gentlemen, I shall 
act in the name and for the benefit of all. The actual amount received for 
your biUs shall be repaid you, and no more. I do not ask the merchants to 
take the bills of my agents. It is an honor, a mark of credit to which I do 
not aspire. If the merchants do take them, it must be at their own risk. I 
only acknowledge and consider as sacred the acceptance of my minister of 
the treasury.' 

" Upon this they expostulated again, and a gi'eat deal of idle talk ensued. 
They would be obliged, they said, to declare themselves bankrupts ; they had 
received these bdls for ready money. Their agents abroad had committed 
the error of taking them through respect for, and confidence in the govern- 
ment. ' A^ery well,' said I, 'become bankrupts.' But they did not. They 
had not received these bills for ready money, and their agents had not com- 
mitted any error. They left me, con^dnced in their own minds of the valid- 
ity of my reasons ; nevertheless, they filled Paris with their clamors and 
with falsehoods in misrepresenting the afikir altogether. This transaction 
and its details explain many other transactions which have been much spoken 
of in Paris under the imperial administration. The commercial world de- 
clared that this proceeding was unexampled ; that such a violation of credit 
was a thing hitherto unheard of. I replied that I would set that question at 
rest by quoting precedents, and recalled to their minds the bills of Louis 
XIV., the liquidations of the regent, the company of the Mississippi, the 
liquidations of the wars of 1763 and 1782, and proved to them that what 
they contended to be a thing unexampled had been the constant practice of 
the monarchy." 

The conversation turned to the different branches of the administration, 
and the Emperor defended the institution of the post of inspector of reviews. 

"It is only through them," said he, " that the actual number of men pres- 
ent can be ascertained ; through them alone has this advantage been ob- . 
tained ; and it is one of immense importance in the active operations of war. 
And these inspectors are not less useful in an administrative point of view ; 
for, whatever trifling abuses may exist in the details, and however numerous 
these abuses may be, it is on a general principle that such things should be 
considered. In order to estimate faiady the utility of this institution, it should 
be asked what other abuses would have taken place if it had not existed. 
For myself I must say, that, checking the expenditure by trying how much 
the total number of troops ought to have cost according to their fixed rates 
of pay, I have always found the sum paid by the treasury to fall short of 
my estimate. What result more beneficial could be required? 

" The administration of the navy," continued the Emperor, " was the most 
regular and honest. It had become a chef d'(X,uvre. In that consisted the 
great merit of Decres. France is too large to have only one minister for the 
administration of the war department. It was a task beyond the powers of 
one man. Paris has been made the centre of aU decisions, contracts, sup- 
plies, and organizations, while the correspondence of the minister has been 



1816, September.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 391 

subdivided among a number of persons equal to the number of regiments and 
corps. Tlie contrary ought to have been the case ; the correspondences 
should have been centred, and the resources subdivided, hj raising them on 
the spot where they were required. I had long meditated a plan to establish 
in France twenty or twenty-five military districts, which would have com- 
posed so many armies. There would have been that number of accountants ; 
these would have been twenty under ministers, for which it would have been 
necessary to find twenty honest men. The minister would have had only 
twenty correspondents. He would have centred the whole, and conducted 
the business with celerity and dispatch. 

Messrs. Gaudin and Mollien were of opinion that it was necessary that 
public functionaries, into whose hands the public money was received, public 
financiers and contractors, should liave very large fortunes, that they should 
have it in their power to make considerable profits, and openly avow them 
in such a manner as to retain a degree of consideration which they might be 
careful not to endanger, and a reputation of honor which they might wish 
not to compromise. In this way, credit, support, and service could be ob- 
tained from them in case of need. 

" Another set of men, Defermonts, Lacuee, and Marbois, thought, on the 
contrary, that it was impossible to be too exact, too saving, and too strict. 
I was inclined to be of the opinion of the first, considering the views of the 
last to be narrow, and such as were applicable to a regiment, but not to an 
army ; to the expenses of a private household, but not to the expenditures 
of a great empire. I called them the Puritans and the Jansenists of the pro- 
fessions. 

"The minister of the treasury and the secretary of state were two of the 
institutions on which I most congratulated myself, and from which I derived 
the greatest assistance. The minister of the treasury concentrated all the 
resources and controlled all the expenses of the empire. From the secretary 
of state all acts emanated. He was the minister of ministers, imparting life 
to all intermediate acts, the grand notary of the empire, signing and authen- 
ticating all documents. Through the first, I knew at every moment the state 
of my affairs ; and through the second, I made known my decisions and my 
will in all directions and every where. With my minister of the treasury 
and my secretary of state alone, and a half dozen clerks, I would have un- 
dertaken to govern the empire from the remotest parts of Illyria, or from the 
banks of the Niemen, with as much facility as in my capital." 

/September 23. The conversation turned upon sensibility. The Emperor 
alluded to one of his companions, who never mentioned the name of his moth- 
er but with tears in his eyes. 

" Is this not peculiar to him ?" said the Emperor. " Is this a general feel- 
ing ? Do you experience the same thing, or am I unnatural in that respect ? 
I certainly love my mother with all my heart. There is nothing which 1 
would not do for her ; yet, if I were to hear of her death, I do not think that 
my grief would manifest itself by a single tear; but I would not affirm that 
this would be the case were I to lose a friend, or my wife, or my son. Is 



392 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ClIAP. XXVI. 

this distinction founded on nature ? What can be the cause of it ? Is it 
that my reason has prepared me beforehand to expect the death of my moth- 
er as being in the natm-al course of events, whereas tlie loss of my wife, or 
of my son, is an unexpected occurrence, a hardship inflicted by Fate which I 
endeavor to struggle against? Perhaps, also, this distinction merely pro- 
ceeds from our natural disposition to egotism. I belong to my mother, but 
my wife and my son belong to me." 

Las Casas testifies to the intensity of Napoleon's affection for his wife and 
his child, lie loved to talk of them in his hours of retirement. " Not a 
day passed," says Las Casas, "in which his wife did not form a pai't of his 
private conversations. There is no circumstance, no minute particularity 
relating to her, which he has not repeated to me a hundred times." 

September 24. The conversation to-day, tunnng upon Holland and King 
Louis, became very interesting. 

"Louis is not devoid of intelhgence," said the Emperor, " and has a good 
heart, but even with these qualifications a man may commit many en-ors 
and do a great deal of mischief Louis is naturally inclined to be capricious 
and fantastical, and the Avorks of Kousseau have contributed to increase this 
disposition. Seeking to obtain a reputation for sensibility and beneficence, 
incapable by himself of enlarged views, and competent only to local details, 
Louis acted like a prefect rather than a king. No sooner had he arrived in 
Holland, than, fancying that nothing could be finer than to have it said that 
he was thenceforth a true Dutchman, he attached himself entirely to the par- 
ty favorable to the English, promoted snuiggling, and thus connived with 
our enemies. It became necessary from that moment to watch over him, 
and even to threaten to wage war against him. Then, seeking refuge against 
the weakness of his disposition in the most stubborn obstinacy, and mistak- 
ino- a public scandal for an act of glory, he fled from his throne, declaiming 
against me and my insatiable ambition, my intolerable tyranny. "What, 
then, remained for me to do? Was I to abandon Holland. to our enemies? 
Ouo-ht I to have given it another king ? In that case, could I have expect- 
ed more from him than from my own brother ? Did not all the kings that 
I created act nearly in the same manner? I therefore imited Holland to 
the empire ; and this act produced a most unfavorable impression in Europe, 
and contributed not a little to lay the foundation of our misfortunes. 

" Louis had been delighted to take Lucien as his model. Lucien had act- 
ed in nearly the same manner. If, at a later period, he has repented, and 
has even nobly made amends for his errors, this conduct, which did honor to 
his character, did not produce any favorable change in our aftairs. On my 
return from Elba in 1815, Louis Avrote a long letter to me from Rome, and 
sent an embassador to me. It was his treaty, he said, the conditions upon 
which he would return to mc. I answered that I would not make any treaty 
with him ; that he was my brother, and that, if he came back, he would be 
well received. AVill it be believed that one of his conditions was that he 
should be at liberty to divorce Hortense I I severely rebuked the negotiator 
for having dared to be the bearer of so absurd a proposal, and for having be- 



1816, September.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 393 

lieved that such a measure could ever be made the subject of a negotiation. 
I reminded Louis that our faniilj compact positively forbade it, and repre- 
sented to him that it was no less forbidden by the laws of policy and moral- 
ity, and by public opinion. 

" I farther assured him that, actuated by all these motives, if his children 
were to lose their estate through his fault, I should feel more interested for 
them than for him, althougli he was my brother. Perhaps an excuse might 
be found for the caprice of Louis's disposition in the deplorable state of his 
health, the age at which it became deranged, and the horrible circumstances 
which produced that derangement, and which must have had a considerable 
influence upon his mind. He was on the point of death on the occasion, 
and has ever since been subject to the most cruel infirmities. He is almost 
paralytic on one side. 

"It is certain that I have derived little assistance from my own family, and 
that they have greatly injured me and the great cause for which I fought. 
The energy of my disposition has often been extolled, but I have been very 
yielding with my own family ; this they knew ; after the first moment of 
anger was over, they always carried their point by perseverance and obsti- 
nacy. I became tired of the contest, and they did with me just as they 
pleased. These are great errors which I have committed. . If, instead of 
this, each of them had given a common impulse to the different bodies which 
I have placed under their direction, we should have marched on to the poles. 




f/ 

PORTRAIT OF JOSEPH BONAPARTE, THE BROTHER OF NAPOLEON. 



394 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXVI. 

Eveiy tiling would have given way before us. We should have changed 
the face of the world. Europe would now enjoy the advantages of a new 
system, and we should have received the benedictions of mankind. 

" I have not been so fortunate as Genghis Khan with his four sons, each 
of whom rivaled the other in zeal for his service. No sooner had I made a 
man a king than he thought himself king hy the grace of God, so contagious 
is the use of the expression. He was then no longer a lieutenant on whom I 
could rely, but another enemy whom I was obliged to guard against. His 
efforts were not directed toward seconding me, but toward rendering himself 
independent. They all immediately imagined that they were adored and 
preferred to me. From that moment I was in their way, I endangered their 
existence. Legitimate monarchs would not have behaved differently, would 
not have thought themselves more firmly established. Weak-minded men ! 
who may have been enlightened when I fell, since the enemy has not even 
done them the honor to demand the surrender of their dignities, or even to 
allude to it. If they are now put under personal restraint, if they are sub- 
ject to vexation, it must proceed on the part of the conqueror from a wish 
to impose the weight of power, or from the base motive of gratifying his 
vengeance. If the members of my family excite a great interest among 
mankind, it is because they belong to me and to the common cause, but as- 
suredly there is not the least danger of any movement being produced by any 
of them. 

" Notwithstanding the philosophy of several of them, for some of them 
have said, after the fashion of the Chamhellaiis of the Faubourg St. Germain, 
that they y^cxe. forced to reign, their fall must have been sensibly felt by them, 
for they had soon accommodated tliemselves to the pleasures and comforts of 
their station. They have all really been kings, thanks to my labors ; aU 
have enjoyed the advantages of royalty. I alone have known its cares. I 
have all the time carried the world on my shoulders, and this occupation is 
rather fatiguing. 

" It will perhaps be asked why I persisted in erecting states and king- 
doms ? But the manners and the situation of Europe required it. Every 
time that another country was annexed to France, the act, added to the uni- 
versal alarm which already prevailed, excited loud murmiu's, and diminished 
the chances of peace. Then why, will it be further said, did I indulge in the 
vanity of placing every member of my family on a throne ? for the generality 
of people Avill have thought me actuated by vanity alone. Why did I not 
rather fix my choice on some private individuals possessing greater abilities ? 
To this I reply, that it is not with thrones as with the functions of a prefect. 
Talents and abilities are so common in the present age among the multitude, 
that one must be cautious to avoid awakening the idea of competition. In 
the agitation of our situation, and with our modern institutions, it was prop- 
er to think rather of consolidating and concentrating the hereditary right of 
succession, in order to avoid innumerable feuds, factions, and misfortunes. 

" The principal defect in my person and my elevation, consistently with 
the plan of universal harmony which I meditated for the repose and happiness 



1816, September.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD.- 395 

of all, was that I had risen at once from the multitude. I felt that I stood 
insulated and alone, and I cast anchors around me on all sides. Where 
could I more naturally look for support than among mj own relations? 
Could I expect more from strangers ? And it must be admitted that, if the 
members of my family have had the folly to break through these secred ties, 
the morality of the people, superior to their blind infatuation, fulfilled, in part, 
my object. With them their subjects thought themselves more quiet, more 
united as in one family. , 

" Acts of that importance were not to be considered lightly. They were 
involved in considerations of the highest order. They were connected with 
the tranquillity of mankind, the possibility of ameliorating its condition. If, 
notwithstanding all these measures, taken with the best intentions, it seems 
that no permanent good has been effected, we must admit the truth of this 
great maxim, that to govern is very difficult for those who wish to do it 
conscientiously. " 

September 27. " The Emperor," says Las Casas, " for some days past has 
been remarkably assiduous in his application. All our mornings have been 
spent in making researches respecting Egypt in the works of the ancient 
authors. We have looked over Herodotus, Pliny, and Strabo together, with- 
out any other intermission than that which we required to eat our breakfast. 
The weather was bad, and the Emperor dictated every day, and the whole 
day. At dinner, the Emperor remarked that his health was much better." 

" But, sire," said Las Casas, " you do not go out of the house, and are oc- 
cupied eight, ten, or twelve hours of the day." 

" That is the very reason," replied the Emperor, " of my being better. 
Occupation is my element ; I am born and made for it. I have found the 
limits beyond which I could not exercise the power of motion ; I have seen 
the extent to which I could use my eyes, but I have never known any 
bounds to my capability of application. I nearly killed poor Meneval. I 
was obliged to relieve him from the duties of his situation, and place him, for 
the recovery of his health, near the person of Maria Louisa, where his post 
was a mere sinecure. If I were in Europe, and had leisure, my pleasure 
would be to write history. The researches in which I have been lately en- 
gaged have proved to me the very indifferent manner in which history has 
been written every where, beyond any tiling I could ever have suspected. 

" We have no good history, and we can not have any. The other nations 
of Europe are nearly in the same predicament as ourselves. Monks and priv- 
ileged individuals, men friendly to abuses, and inimical to information and 
learning, have monopohzed this branch of writing. They have told us what 
they thought proper, or, rather, that which favored their interests, gratified 
their passions, or agreed with their views. I had formecl a plan for remedy- 
ing the evil as much as possible. I intended, for instance, to appoint com- 
missioners from the Institute, or learned men whom public opinion might 
have pointed out to me, to revise, criticise, and republish our historical annals. 
I wished also to add commentaries to the classic authors which are put into 
the hands of our youth, to explain them with reference to our modern insti- 



39G NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXVI. 

tutions. With a good programme, competition, and rewards, this end would 
have been aocomplished. Every thing can be obtained by such means. 

" It was my intention to have caused the history of the kst reigns of our 
kino-s to be Avritten from the orio'inal documents taken from the archives of 
our foreign affairs. There were also several manuscripts, ancient and mod- 
ern, in the imperial library, which I intended to have caused to be printed, 
classifying and embodying them under their different heads, so as to form 
codes of doctrines on science, morality, literature, and fine arts. In order to 
check the production of the immense number of inferior works with which the 
public is inundated, without, however, trencliing upon the liberty of the press, 
what objection could there be to the formation of a tribunal of opinion, com- 
posed of members of the Institute, of members of the University, and of per- 
sons appointed by the government, who would examine all works with refer- 
ence to these three points of view, science, morality, and politics ? who would 
have criticised them, and defined the degree of merit possessed by each ? 
This tribunal would have been the light of the public. It v/ould have op- 
erated as a warranty in favor of works of real merit, would have insured their 
success, and thus produced emulation ; and it Avould also have discouraged 
the publication of inferior productions." 

Las Casas here records the following habits of the Emperor wdien upon the 
throne. 

" The Emperor was almost always in his closet. It might be said that 
he spent the whole day and part of the night in it. He usually went to bed 
at ten or eleven o'clock, and got up again about twelve, to w^ork a few hours 
more. He himself read all tlie letters whicli were addressed to him. To 
some he answered by Avriting a few words in the margin, and to others he 
dictated an ansv.-er. Those that were of great importance were always put 
by and read a second time, and were never answered until some time had 
elaj)sed. He often said '-To-morrow; night is a good adviser.'' Indeed, 
he has frequently remarked that he worked much more at night than during 
the day ; not that thoughts of business pi-evented him from sleeping, but be- 
cause he slept at intervals, according as he wanted rest, and a little sufficed 
him. It often happened to the Emperor, during the course of his campaigns, 
to be roused suddenly upon some emergency of business. He would then 
immediately get up, and it would have been impossible to guess, from the ap- 
pearance of his eyes, that he had just been sleeping. It has sometimes hap- 
pened that he has been called up as much as ten times in tlie same night, and 
each time he was always found to have fallen asleep again, not having as yet 
taken his supply of rest." 

September 29. During dinner, somebody mentioned a pool which stands 
in the garden, where a lamb had been drowned. 

" Is it possible," said the Emperor to one of his household, " that you have 
not yet had this pool filled up ? How guilty you Avould be, and what would not 
be your grief, if your son were to be drowned in it, as might easily happen ?" 

" Sire," replied the person thus accused, " I often intended to have it done, 
but it was impossible to get Avorkmen." 



1816, September.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 397 

"That is not an excuse," said the Emperor. "If my son were here, I 
should go and till it up with my own hands." 

Septe7nhe7' 30. "Whenever the Emperor took up a subject," says Las 
Casas, "if he was in the least animated, his language was fit to be printed. 
He has often, when an idea struck him forcibly, dictated to any one of us 
who happened to be in his way pages which, at the first throw, were of the 
finest diction. On one occasion, when the English ministerial newspaper 
spoke of the large treasures which Napoleon must possess, and which he no 
doubt concealed, the Emperor dictated as follows : 

" ' You wish to know the treasures of Napoleon. They are immense, it is 
true, but they are all exposed to light. They are the noble harbors of Ant- 
werp and Flushing, which are capable of containing the largest fleets, and of 
protecting them against the ice from, the sea ; the hydraulic works of Dun- 
kirk, Havre, and Nice ; the immense harbor of Cherbourg ; the maritime 
works at Venice ; the beautiful roads from Antwerp to Amsterdam, from 
Mentz to Metz, from Bordeaux to Bayonne ; the passes of the Simplon, of 
Mount Cenis, of Mount Geneve, of the Corniche, which open a communica- 
tion through the Alps in four different directions, and which exceed in gran- 
deur, in boldness, and in skill of execution all the works of the Romans. 
In these alone you will find eight hundred millions [$160,000,000]. 

" ' The treasures of Napoleon may be found in the roads from the Pyre- 
nees to the Alps, from Parma to Spezia, from Savona to Piedmont ; in the 
bridges of Jena, Austerlitz, Des Arts, Sevres, Tours, Rouanne, Lyons, Turin ; 
in the bridges of Isere, of the Durance, of Bordeaux and Rouen ; in the canal 
which connects the Rhine with the Rhone by the Doubs, and thus unites the 
North Sea with the Mediterranean ; in the canal which connects the Scheldt 
with the Somme, and thus joins Paris and Amsterdam ; in the canal which 
unites the Ranee to the Vilaine ; the canal of Aries, that of Pavia, and that 
of the Rhine ; in the draining of the marshes of Burgoine, of the Contentin, 
of Rochefort ; in the rebuilding of the greater number of the churches de- 
stroyed during the Revolution, the building of others, and the institution of 
numerous establishments of industry for the suppression of mendicity ; in 
the building of the Louvre, the construction of public warehouses, of the 
bank, of the canal of the Ourcq, and the distribution of water in the city of 
Paris ; in the numerous drains, the quays, the embellishments, and the mon- 
uments of tliat large capital ; in the works for the embellishment of Rome, 
the re-establishment of the manufactures of Lyons, the creation of many 
hundred manufactories of cotton for spinning and for weaving, which employ 
several millions of workmen ; in the funds accumulated to establish upward 
of four hundred manufactories of sugar from beet-roots for the consumption 
of part of France, and which would have furnished sugar at the same price 
as it can be obtained from the West Indies, if they had continued to receive 
encouragement only four years longer ; in the substitution of woad for indi- 
go, which would, ^t last, have been brought to a state of perfection in France, 
and obtained as good and cheap as the indigo from the colonies ; in numerous 
manufactories for all kinds of objects of art; in fifty millions [$10,000,000] 



398 "^ NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXVI. 

expended in repairing and beautifying the palaces belonging to the crown ; 
in .sixty millions [$12,000,000] in furniture for the palaces belonging to the 
crown in France, Holland, Turin, and at Rome ; in sixty millions in dia- 
monds for the crown, all purchased with Napoleon's money — the Regent (the 
only diamond that was left belonging to the former diamonds of the crown) 
withdrawn from the hands of the Jews at Berlin, in whose hands it had been 
left as a pledge for three millions [$600,000] ; in the Napoleon Museum, 
valued at upward of four hundred millions [$80,000,000], filled with objects 
legitimately acquired either by money or treaties of peace known to the whole 
world, by virtue of which the master-pieces it contains were given in lieu of 
territory or of contributions ; in several millions amassed to be applied to 
the encouragement of agriculture, which is the paramount consideration for 
the interest of France ; in the introduction of Merino sheep, &c. These form 
a treasure of several thousand millions, which will endure for ages. These 
are the monuments that will confute calumny. 

" ' History will say that all these things were accomplished in the midst of 
perpetual wars, without having recourse to any loan, and while the national 
debt was even diminishing every day, and that nearly fifty millions of taxes 
were remitted. Very large sums still remain in his private treasure. They 
were guaranteed to him by the treaty of Fontainebleau as the result of the 
savings eiFected on the civil list and of his other private revenues. These 
sums Avere divided, and did not go entirely into the public treasury, nor alto- 
gether into the treasury of France.' " 

On another occasion the Emperor read in an English newspaper that Lord 
Castlereagh had said, in an assembly in Ireland, that Napoleon had declared 
at St. Helena that he never would have made peace with England but to de- 
ceive her, take her by surprise, and destroy her ; and that if the French army 
was attached to the Emperor, it was because he was in the habit of giving 
the daughters of tlie richest families in man'iage to his soldiers. 

The Emperor was moved with indignation by a libel so atrocious, and im- 
mediately dictated the following reply : 

" These calumnies, uttered against a man who is so barbarously oppressed, 
and who is not allowed to make his voice heard in answer to them, will be 
disbelieved by all persons well educated and susceptible of feeling. When 
Napoleon was seated on the first throne in the world, then, no doubt, his en- 
emies had a right to say whatever they pleased. His actions were public, 
and were a sufficient answer to them. At any rate, his conduct belonged to 
public opinion and history ; but to utter new and base calumnies against him 
at the present moment, is an act of the utmost meanness and cowardice, and 
which will not answer the end proposed. Millions of libels have been and 
are still published every day, but they are without effect. Sixty millions of 
men, of the most polished nations in the world, raise their voices to confute 
them ; and fifty thousand Englishmen, who are now traveling on the Conti- 
nent, will, on their return home, publish the truth to the inhabitants of the 
three kingdoms of Great Britain, who will blush at having been so grossly 
deceived. 



1816, September.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 399 

" As for the bill, by virtue of which Napoleon has been dragged to this 
rock, it is an act of proscription similar to those of Sylla, and still more 
atrocious. The Romans unrelentingly pursued Hannibal to the utmost ex- 
tremities of Bythinia, and Flaminius obtained from King Prusias the death 
of that great man ; yet at Rome Flaminius was accused of having acted thus 
in order to satisfy his personal hatred. It was in vain that he urged in his 
defense that Hannibal, yet in the vigor of life, might still become a danger- 
ous enemy, and that his death was necessary. A thousand voices were 
raised, and answered that acts of injustice and ungenerous deeds can never 
be useful to a great nation ; and that upon such pretenses as those now set 
forth, murder, poisoning, and every species of crime might be justified. The 
following generation reproached their ancestors with this base act. They 
would have given any thing to have the stain effaced from their history. 
And since the re-establishment of letters among nations, every succeeding age 
has added its imprecations to those pronounced by Hannibal at the moment 
when he drank the fatal cup. He cursed Rome, who, while her fleets and 
legions covered Europe, Asia, and Africa, satiated her vengeance against one 
man, alone and unprotected, because she feared or pretended to fear him. 

" The Romans, however, never violated the rights of hospitality. Sylla 
found an asylum in the house of Marius. Flaminius did not, before he ban- 
ished Hannibal, receive him on board his ship, and declare that he had or- 
ders to treat him favorably. The Roman fleet did not convey him to the 
port of Ostia. And Hannibal, instead of placing himself under the Romans, 
preferred trusting his person to a king of Asia. At the moment when he 
was banished, he was not under the protection of the Roman flag ; he was 
under the banners of a king who was an enemy of Rome. 

" If in future ages a king of England should be one day brought before 
the awful tribunal of his nation, his defenders will urge in his favor the sa- 
cred character of a king, the respect due to the throne, to all crowned heads, 
and to the anointed of the Lord ! But his accusers will have a right to an- 
swer thus : 

" ' One of the ancestors of this king whom you defend banished a man 
who was his guest, in time of peace. Afraid to put him to death in the pres- 
ence of a nation governed by positive laws, and by regular and public forms, 
he caused his victim to be exposed on the most insalubrious point of a rock, 
situated in another hemisphere, in the midst of the ocean, where this guest 
perished after a long agony, a prey to the climate, to want, to insults of every 
kind ! Yet that guest w-as also a great sovereign, raised to the throne on 
the shields of thirty-six millions of citizens. He was master of almost every 
capital of Europe. The greatest kings composed his court. He was gen- 
erous toward all. He was, during twenty years, the arbitrator of nations. 
His family was allied to every reigning family, even to that of England. He 
was twice the anointed of the Lord — twice consecrated by the august cere- 
monies of religion.'" 

" The Emperor," says Las Casas, " always dictated without the least 
preparation. I never saw him, on any occasion, make any research respect- 



400 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXVII. 

ing our history or that of any other nation, and yet no man ever quoted 
history more laithfully, more apropos, or more frequently. One miglit have 
supposed that he knew history by quotations only, and that these quotations 
occurred to him as hy inspiration. And here I must be allowed to mention 
a fact which has often struck me, and which I never could satisfactorily ac- 
count for to 7nyself ; but it is so very remarkable, and I have witnessed it 
so often, that I can not pass it in silence. It is, that Napoleon seems to pos- 
sess a stock of information on several points, Avhich remains with him, as it 
were, in reserve, to burst forth with splendor on remarkable occasions, and 
which, in his'moments of carelessness, appears to be not only slun\bering, but 
almost unknown to him altogether. 

" With respect to history, for instance, how often has it happened to him 
to ask me wliether St. Louis had reigned before or after Philippe le Bel, and 
other questions of the same kind. But if the occasion oftercd, Avhcn his mo- 
ment came, then he would quote without hesitation, and Avith the most minute 
details. And when it has sometimes happened to me to be in doubt, and to 
go and verify, I have always found him to be right, and almost scrupulously 
exact. I have never been able to detect him in error." 



CHAPTER XXVII. 
1816, October. 



Fatalism — The Governor seeks another Interview — New Demands and Restrictions — Remarks to 
Dr. O'Meara — Laws — Communication from Sir Thomas Keade — Reduction of Expenses — -Influ- 
ence of Public Opinion — The Emperor's Son — The Sacred Cause of Washington and of Napo- 
leon — Great Grief of the Emperor. 

Octoher 1. Among the numerous subjects of conversation, fatalism Avas 
mentioned. The Emperor made many remarkable observations upon this 
subject. 

"Pray," said he, "am I not supposed to be given to the belief in fatal- 
ism ?" 

"Yes, sire, at least by many people," replied Las Casas. 

" Well, well, let them say on," said he. " But what are men ? How much 
easier it is to occupy their attention, and to strike their imaginations by ab- 
surdities than by rational ideas ! But can a man of sound sense listen for 
one moment to such a doctrine? Either fatalism admits the existence of 
free will, or it rejects it. If it admits it, how can that result be fixed in a,d- 
vance, which a simple determination, a step, a word, may alter or modify, ad 
infinitum ? If fatalism, on the contrary, rejects the existence of free will, it 
is quite another question. In that case, a child need only be thrown into its 
cradle as soon as it is born ; there is no necessity for bestowing the least 
care vipon it ; for, if it be irrevocably determined that it is to live, it AviU grow 
though no food should be given to it. 

" You see that such a doctrine can not be maintained. Fatalism is but a 
word without meaning. The Turks themselves, the patrons of fatalism, are 



1816, October.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 401 

not convinced of the doctrine, or medicine would not exist in Turkey. A 
man residing on a third floor would not take the trouble to go down by the 
longer way of the stairs ; he would immediately throw himself out of the win- 
dow. You see to what a string of absurdities that will lead." 

"About three o'clock," says Las Casas, "the Emperor was told that the 
governor wished to- communicate to him some instructions which he had just 
received from London. The Emperor replied that he was unwell ; that the 
instructions might be sent to him, or communicated to some one of his suite ; 
but the governor insisted on being admitted, saying that he wished to com- 
municate directly with the Emperor. He added that he had also a few words 
to say to us in private after having spoken to the Qeiieral. The Emperor 
again refused ; upon which the governor retired, saying that he begged that 
he might be informed when he could see tlie General. This period may be 
distant indeed ; the Emperor, with whom I was at that moment, having said 
to me that he was determined never to receive him again." 

In the afternoon Dr. O'Meara called with a message from Sir Hudson 
Lowe. 

"I expect nothing," said the Emperor, "from the present ministry but 
ill treatment. The more they want to lessen me, the more will I exalt my- 
self. It was my intention to have assumed the name of Colonel Muiron, who 
was killed by my side at Areola, covering me with his body, and to have 
lived as a private person in England, in some part of the country where I 
might have lived retired, without ever desiring to mix in the grand world. I 
would have never gone to London, nor have dined out. Probably I should 
have seen very few persons. Perhaps I might have formed a friendship with 
some of the literary and scientific men. I would have rode out every day, 
and then have returned to my books." 

"As long," said O'Meara, " as you retain the title of majesty, the English 
ministers will have a pretext for keeping you in St. Helena." 

" They force me to it," the Emperor replied. " I wanted to assume an 
incognito on my arrival here, which was proposed to the Admiral Cockburn, 
but they will not permit it. They insist on calling me General Bonajparte. 
I have no reason to be ashamed of that title ; but I will not take it from' 
them. If the republic had not a legal existence, it had no more right to con- 
stitute me general than chief magistrate. If Admiral Cockburn had remain- 
ed, perhaps matters might have been arranged. He had some heart, and, to 
do him justice, was incapable of a mean action. Do you think he will do us 
an injury on his arrival in England?" 

" I do not think," Dr. O'Meara replied, " that he will render you any serv- 
ice, particularly in consequence of the manner in which he was treated when 
he last came up to see you. But he will not tell any falsehoods. He will 
strictly adhere to the truth, and give his opinion about you, which is not very 
favorable." 

"Why so ?" inquired the Emperor ; "we were very well together on board 
ship. What can he say of me ? that I want to escape, and mount the throne 
of France again ?" 

Cc 



402 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXVII. 

" It is, in my opinion, veiy probable," answered the doctor, " that he will 
both think and say so." 

" Bah !" exclaimed the Emperor : " if I were in England now, and a dep- 
utation from France were to come and offer me the throne, I would not ac- 
cept of it, unless I knew such to be the unanimous wish of the nation. Oth- 
erwise I should have to turn executioner, and cut off the heads of thousands 
to keep myself upon it : oceans of blood must flow to maintain me there. I 
have made noise enough in the world already, perhaps too much, and am now 
getting old, and want retirement. These were the motives which induced me 
to abdicate the last time." 

"When you were Emperor," O'Meara added, "you caused Sir George 
Cockburn's brother to be arrested when envoy at Hamburg, and conveyed to 
France, where he was detained for some years." 

The Emperor appeared surprised, and, after endeavoring for some time to 
recall the circumstance, said, "Are you sure that the person so arrested was 
Sir Georo-e Cockburn's brother ?" 

"I am perfectly sure," O'Meara replied, "as the admiral has told me of 
the circumstance himself." 

" It is likely enough," the Emperor added ; " but I do not recollect the • 
name. I suppose, however, tliat it must have been at tlie time when I caused 
all the English I could find on the Continent to be detained, because your 
government had seized upon all the French ships, sailors, and passengers they 
could lay their hands upon, in harbor or at sea, before the declaration of war. 
I, in my turn, seized upon all the Englisli that I could find on land, in order 
to show them that, if they were all-powerful at sea, and could do what they 
liked there, I was equally so by land, and had as good a right to seize people 
on my element as they had on theirs. Now I can comprehend the reason 
why your ministers selected him. I am surprised, however, that he never 
told me any thing about it. A man of delicacy would not have accepted the 
task of conducting me here under similar circumstances. But you will see 
that, in a short time, the English will cease to hate me. So many of them 
have been and are in France, where they will hear the truth, that they will 
produce a revolution of opinion in England. I will leave it to them to justify 
me, and I have no doubt about the results. 

"Do you know wliat the governor wanted," inquired the Emperor, "or 
why he wished to see me ?" 

"Perhaps," O'Meara replied, "he had some communication from Lord 
Bathurst, which he did not like to deliver to any other person." 

" It will be better for us not to meet," said the Emperor. "It is prob- 
ably some stupidity of Lord Bathurst, which he will make worse by his un- 
gracious manner of communicating. I am sure that it is nothing good. 
Lord Bathurst is a bad man, his communications are bad, and the governor 
is worse than all. Nothing good can arise from an interview. The last time 
I saw him, he laid liis liand on his sabre two or three times in a violent man- 
ner ; therefore go to liim, and inform him that, if he has any thing to com- 
municate, he had better send it to General Bertrand, or Bertrand will call at 



1816, October.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 403 

his house. Assure him that he may rely on Bertrand's making a faithfiil re- 
port. Or, let him send Colonel Reade to me to explain what he has to say. 
I will receive and hear him, because he will be only the bearer of orders, not 
the giver of them ; therefore, if he comes on a bad mission, I shall not be 
angry, as he will only obey the orders of a superior." 

"I endeavored," says O'Meara, "to induce him to meet the governor, in 
order, if possible, to make up the differences between them." 

"To meet him," the Emperor replied, "would be the worst mode of at- 
tempting it. I am confident that it is some stupidity of Lord Bathurst, 
which he would make worse and convert into an insult by his brutal mode 
of communicating it. You know I never got into a passion with the admiral, 
because, even when he had something to communicate, he did it with some 
feeling ; but this man treats us as if we were so many deserters." 

" Sir Thomas Reade," said O'Meara, "is incapable of explaining in French 
or Italian the purport of any communication. If he should commit what he 
has to say to paper, would you read it or allow it to be read to you ?" 

" Certainly," the Emperor replied. " Let him do this, or send it to Gen- 
eral Bertrand. As to me, perhaps I shall not see the governor for six months. 
Let him break open the doors or level the house, I am not subject to the 
English laws, because they do not protect me. I am sure that he has noth- 
ing pleasant to communicate, or he would not be so anxious to do it person- 
ally. Nothing but insults or bad news ever came from Lord Bathurst. I 
wish they would give orders to have me dispatched. I do not like to com- 
mit suicide. It is a thing I have always disapproved of I have made a 
vow to drain the cup to the last draught, but I should be more rejoiced if 
they would send directions to put me to death." 

October 2. Napoleon suffered much pain from the toothache, and was kept 
awake most of the night. In the morning he sent for Doctor O'Meara. 

"Go to the governor," said he, "and inform him that, in consequence of 
indisposition, pain, and want of sleep, I find myself unfit to listen calmly to 
communications or to enter into discussions ; therefore I wish that the gov- 
ernor would communicate to Count Bertrand whatever he has to say. If he 
can not communicate it to Count Bertrand, or to any other resident of Long- 
wood, I shall have no objection to receive it from Colonel Beade." 

He then added, in conversation with O'Meara, " If that man were to bring 
me word that a frigate had arrived for the purpose of taking me to England, 
I should conceive it to be bad news, because he was the bearer of it. With 
such a temper of mind, you must see how improper it would be that an in- 
terview should take place. He came up here yesterday surrounded with his 
staff, as if he were going in state to assist at an execution instead of asking 
privately to see me. Three times has he gone away in a passion, therefore 
it will be better that no more interviews should take place between us, as 
no good can arise from it ; and, as he represents his nation here, I do not 
like to insult or make severe remarks to him, similar to those I was obliged 
to express before." 

To the courteous message which Doctor O'Meara delivered, the governor 



101 NM'Ol.KiW .\r srUKl.KNA [(^ivr. \\\ll. 

irtunioil ;m ;ius\\i"»', in w hirli \\c \\\\\w^[c<.\ tlu< iKu'lor to intorm (it-noral Im>- 
i\Mpjirti* (lint lu> oxpootinl tn\ npolo^v holli iVoui (uMirral luMtnuul and iVoin 
(uvnoral IvMiapavto tor tlu* inttMnpi'nilo l-mpiagi^ iisnl in tlioir last intiMviow ; 
that tho >;'\niU"nor nvIsIuhI lo louuuunioaii* a luossnm' lo (ioutMal InMiajnu'tt^ 
in tlio jMVsonro ot' somo ot'liisowti statV ami i^t" a lMiMnlM>iruoi' ; but it'(Jou- 
oval l>onaivuto n^t'usoil (o t*oo tJio uxnornor. lu> \\*niKl ionuuiinirali> thvvMiirh 
Sir Tlunuas lu-a^K- tlio (/('Ht^t'itt jittt*f>ort of what lir had lo sa\, lra\iiii\' somo 
points tor t"ui\iro ilisiMission. O'Moava taiihtully I'oinutunii-atoil tlio n)ossaii,x\ 
'* Napoloon," said lu\ '* vsmilod oot\tiM\iptuovislv at (ho iilra o( /i/'s apolog'iziui; 
\o Sir Ihulsoii 1 .in\ i\" 

( Ki(>ih r 'A. "Saw NapoUnMi in tlio niovninu'." Or. 0*^K>aia \vriti>s. " At^- 
OV I liad inquiwHl inlv> tlio stati^ o( his lu^allh. ho i>ntrroil \\\io\\ tlio luisinoss 
of Yostovday." 

"As tins gvnoiiun","" saul Napolovm, " doolaivs that ho will not otuunmni- 
oato tlio wholo to Koado. Init inlonds to i-osorxo sonio t'litnvo points for ilis- 
o\»iSsiou, 1 shall not soo him, tor I imlv a^iov* to siu> Koado in ovili-r io a\oid 
iho si«;'lit ot' tlio othor; and by vosorvinu; tho points ho spoaks ot", ho miuht 
ooiuo up apiin to-mon\nv or uoxt ilay, ami iloniaml anothor intiM'vii-w. It' ho 
wants lv> oonunnnioato, lot him soml Ids atljiitant ;;onoial to InMlraml. or io 
Montholon, or to Las (.\nsas. or (umri;aml, or to you; or soud tor i>m> ot' 
thom. and oxplain it Innisolt': or lot him oomnmnioati" tlio ir/to/t' to Koado, 
or tv> Sir (iooiv,i> lMUj;ham. or siMiu-bodv olso ; and (hon 1 will soi> tho por- 
80U S50 ohosou. It ho still insists on sooinu' nio, I will wriio mysolt'in answor, 
* Tho Kmpoivv Napoleon will not soo you. booanso tho l;»st throo tinios you 
w o»v with him you insnllod him. and ho iloos not wish moro oommunioation 
with yon.* 

'* I woll know th;i(, it"wv> lia\o anothor inior\ iow, (lunv will bo dispnti\< 
j\nd almso. llo, tor Ins own sako. oni;lit not to dosiiv ono. .at'tor tho langna^v 
wliioh I appliod tv^ him tho l.ast timo. I tidd him, bot'oiv tho ailmir.-il, whon 
ho s.aid that ho only did his ilnty. that so did tho han^inan, but that ono was 
not oWigtHl to soo that liauginau until tho moinont ot' oxooutiou. Shaiuotul 
soonos I 1 do i\ot wish to tvnow thorn. I know that my blood will bo hoat- 
od. I will toll him that no powov on oartli obligvs :i prisoner to vsoo and dt^ 
bate with his oxooutiouov, tor his oond\iot has m:ulo him suoh to mo. lie 
[uvtends that ho aets aoooulluu- to his instvnetions. 

•' A i;\nernn\ont two thousand leaiiiuvs distant oau do no nunv than point 
out the giMunul luaunor in w liieh thing's unist bo oo\uluotod, and uuist leave 
a givat disewtiouavy power, w hieh he distorts and turns ii\ the worst possible 
lujvuuev. in onlev to toruiout uio. A }n\H^t' that he is woi"se than his gwern- 
lueut is, that they have sent out soYonil thing-?* to make uie eou^tortablo : 
hut he. does nothing hut tonneni. insult, and ivndev uiy existeueo as miser- 
able as jHVissible. To ooinpleto the busiiu\<s, ho writes letters t"uU of snux^th- 
ness and swtH^tuoss, ]not'ossiug evorv ivgard, whieh he at'terwanl seiuls home, 
to make the worhl believe that he is o\u- best t'rienil. I want to avoid anoth- 
or si.HMu> with him. 

•* I never, in the heiuhi ot" mv innver, made \ise of suoh lano;ua>rt^ to anv 



1810, < h-A<i fjr;r. ] IlESfrjENC \] a t T/jN'GWOOD. 4 05 

man an i waH cornpdllcfl to ap[;]y to liirn. Jt would have been unpardona- 
bJc at the '^^I'uilcrirjH. ih'. han a had rriiHHion, and fuHiJiH it Ladly. I do not 
tliifjk that ]jc IB aware how mucJi we luttcj and deHpine liinj. 1 nhould Jike 
Jjifij to krjow if. lie HUHpwjtH every hody; evfjii his own staff are not fmj 
i'roni it. You H<i^; that he will not eonfidfj to Jleade. Why dooH lie not go 
to Montholon or T^aH CaHaK if h(5 does not like iiertrandt" 

" »Sir JludHon Lowe has naid," O'Meara replied, "tliat Jic can not repose 
confidence in tlif; fideh'ty of eitlier of them in reporting the purport of Ijin eon- 
verHafJon." 

"Oil," said Napoleon, "he is offended with Montliolon about that letter, 
written in August last, and with Las Casas because he not only writes the 
Irutli to a lady in Loridon, but tells it every where luire." 

" 'I'hf; governor," O'Meara replied, " 1ms accused Count J^as Casas of liav- 
ing writtcj) many falsehoods respecting what lias passed here." 

" J^as Casas," the Emperor replied, "would not be blockhea/1 enough to 
write falsehoods when he was obliged to send the letters containinf them 
through his hands. ] le only wrjt^js the truth, which that jailer does not wish 
to b(} known. J am sure tliat he wants to tell me tliat some of my generals 
are to )>e removed, and wishes to throw the odium of sending them away 
upon me, by leaving the choice to me. They woulrl send you away too if 
they were not afraid you would do some mischief in Kngland by telling what 
you have seen. Their design, L believe, is to send every body away who 
might he inclined to make my life less disagreeable. Truly they have 
ehosfjn a pretty representative for Bathurst. I would sooner have an inter- 
view with the corporal of the guard than with that gaUrio/no. How differ- 
ent it was with the admiral I We used to converse together sociably on dif- 
ferent subjects like friends ; but this man is only fit to oppress and insult 
those whom misfortune has placed in his power." 

After br(;akfast the J'^nperor walked for a short time in the garden with 
his companions. He spoke of the mysterious communication which the gov- 
ernor had to make, and all formed conjectures upon the subject. The air 
was cold and damp, and tlie lOmperor soon returned to his room. He turned 
over the pages of an English book on jurisprudence, and the criminal codes 
of France and J^^ngland. In the course of a conversation upon this subject, 
the l^^mperor rc.markcd, 

" Laws which irj theory are a model of clearness, become too often a chaos 
in their application, becauHc; men, with their passions, spoil every thing they 
touch.. ]Vlen can only avoid being exposed to the arbitrary acts of the judge 
by submitting to the despotism of the law. I had at first fancied tliat it 
would be possible to reduce all laws to simple geometrical demonstrations, 
so that (lYitry man who could read, and connect two ideas together, would be 
able to decide for himself; but 1 became convinced almost immediately that 
this idea was absurd. However,! should have wished to start from some, 
fixed point, and follow one road known to all, have no other laws but those 
inserted in the code, and proclaim, once for all, that all laws that were not in 
the code were null and void ; but it is not easy to obtain simplicity from 



406 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChaP. XXYII. 

practical lawyers. They first prove to you that simplicity is impossible, that 
it is a mere chimera, and endeavor next to demonstrate that it is incompat- 
ible with the stability and the existence of povvei*. Power, they say, is ex- 
posed alone to the unexpected machinations of all. It must therefore have, 
in the moment of need, arms kept in reserve for unforeseen cases, so that, 
with some old edicts of Chilperic or Pharamond brought forward for the oc- 
casion, nobody can say that he is secure from being hanged in due form and 
according to law. 

" So long as the subjects of discussion in the Council of State were refer- 
able to the Code, I felt very strong, but when they diverged from it I was 
quite in the dark, and IMerlin was then my resource ; he was my light. 
Without possessing mucli brilliancy, Merlin is very learned, wise, upright, 
and honest, a veteran of the good old cause. He was very much attached 
to me. No sooner had the Code made its appearance, than it was almost im- 
mediately followed by commentaries, explanations, elucidations, and interpret- 
ations. I usually exclaimed, on seeing this. Gentlemen, we have cleaned 
the stable of Augeas, do not let us fiU it up again." 

The day was oppressively hot, and the Emperor was depressed, harassed, 
and exhausted with the sleeplessness of the night ; but, with characteristic 
firmness, at one o'clock he sent for Las Casas, as he wished to take his usual 
English lesson. Wearied nature, however, rebelled, and two or three times 
during the lesson he fell asleep. He afterward took a drive in his calash. 
On his return he found General Bertrand, Avho reported to him the interview 
he had just held Avith Sir Hudson Lowe relative to the signature and the re- 
movals. 

"After dinner," says Las Casas, "the Emperor amused himself by solv- 
ing some problems in geometry and algebra. This, he said, reminded him 
of his youthful days. It surprised us all to find that the subjects were still 
so fresh in his recollection." 

October 4. Sir Thomas Reade came to Longwood to make the much-talk- 
ed-of communication. He was admitted to an audience, and read the follow- 
ing paper to the Emperor : 

" The French who wish to remain with General Bonaparte must sigii the 
simple form, whicli will be given to them, of their willingness to submit to 
whatever restrictions may be imposed upon General Bonaparte, without mak- 
ing any remarks of their own upon it. Those who refuse will be sent off 
directly to the Cape of Good Hope. The establishment is to be reduced in 
number four persons. Those who remain are to consider themselves amena- 
ble to the laws in the same manner as if they were British subjects, espe- 
cially to those Avhich have been fi*amed for the safe custody of General Bona- 
parte. The aiding of him to escape is declared felony. Any of tliem abus- 
ing, reflecting upon, or behaving ill to the governor or the government they 
are under, will be forthwith sent to the Cape, where no facilities wiU be fur- 
nished for tlieir conveyance to Europe."* 

* The following was the inclosed form of declaration : " I. the undersigned, do hereby declare 
that it is my desire to remain on the island of St. Helena, and to participate in the restrictions im- 



1816, October.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 407 

The English government, at the same time, made a demand upon the Em- 
peror for seven thousand dollars paid for hooks which had been sent to Long- 
wood. Lord Bathurst knew very well that the Emperor had no money at 
St. Helena, for he had already rifled his trunks ; but he wished to ascertain 
where the Emperor's money was deposited in Europe. The torture was ap- 
plied to compel him to draw. 

Sir Thomas Reade then called upon Count Bertrand, and informed him that 
the governor wished to see him and the other officers of General Bonaparte's 
suite, either collectively, or in any other manner which might best suit their 
convenience. These gentlemen were then informed of the paper which they 
must sign, or be sent from the island. The whole household at Longwood 
were by these proceedings plunged into dismay. Four of the Emperor's 
companions were to be torn from him, and all the rest were to be sent away, 
leaving the Emperor to journey sadly to the grave, friendless and alone, un- 
less they would sign a paper which, under the peculiar circumstances, sub- 
jected them to deep humiliation. Such torture, inflicted upon these helpless 
exiles by the proud and powerful British government, in combination with 
the allied despotisms of Europe, must forever excite the indignation of every 
generous mind. 

The Emperor alone appeared calm. He had received Sir Thomas Eeade 
with studied civility, and had patiently listened to the atrocious document. 
His soul was nerved for the endurance of any outrage, and, concealing the 
anguish which consumed him, he calmly asked, 

" What four persons are to leave me ?" 

" I can not tell," Sir Thomas Reade replied. 

" Are they to be officers ?" he again inquired. 

"I can not tell," was again the cold and mechanical answer. 

The Emperor soon retired to the solitude of his room. The conflicting 
emotions of indignation and anguish which agitated him through the sleep- 
less night are known only to God. 

October 5. At an early hour in the morning. Las Casas, before he had 
risen, heard some one tap at his door. In a moment the bed-curtains were 
drawn aside, and, to his astonishment, he saw the Emperor standing before 
him. Napoleon, unable to sleep, had risen at this early hour, and had called 
for Las Casas, his most serious and congenial companion, to accompany him 
on a walk. He conversed for a long time upon the events of thevpreceding 
day. He then returned to his room for a bath. Soon after, seeing Doctor 
O'Meara in the garden, he went out and called to him. They walked for 
some time together in friendly conversation. 

" There was nothing, " said the Emperor, "in the intelligence which the gov- 
ernor pretended he could only comnmnicate to myself which might not have 
been made known through Bertrand or any one else ; but he thought that he 
had an opportunity of insulting and grieving me, which ]ie eagerly embraced. 
He came up here with his staff, just as if he were going to announce a wed- 

posed upon Napoleon Bonaparte personally." If the person was married, the words " with my 
wife and family" were added. 



408 NAPOLEON -AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXVII. 

ding, with exultation and joy painted upon his countenance at the idea of 
having it in his power to afflict me. He thought to phiut a dagger in mj 
heart, and coukl not deny himself tl;e pleasure of witnessing and enjoying it 
personally. Never has he given a greater proof of a bad mind than in thus 
wisJiing to stab to the heart one whom misfortunes had placed in his power." 

Doctor O'Meara urged the Emperor to be careful, and not irritate the gov- 
ernor, lest he should suffer more severely ; suggesting that, if Sir Hudson 
Lowe were conciliated, he might send away four domestics instead of officers. 

"We are in the power of a despot," said the Emperor, "and there is for 
us no remedy. They will send away the rest by degrees. It is as well for 
them to go now as after a little time. What advantage shall I gain by hav- 
ing them here until the arrival of the next ship from England, or until that 
animal finds out some pretext to send them away ? I would rather they 
were all gone than to have four or five persons trembling about me, having 
the dread of being forced on board ship constantly hanging over their heads ; 
for, by that communication of yesterday, they are placed entirely at his dis- 
cretion. Let him send every body away, plant sentinels at the doors and 
windows, and send up nothing but bread and water, I regard it not. My 
mind is free. I am just as independent as when I commanded an army of 
six hundred thousand men, as I told him the other day. This heart is as 
free as when I gave laws to Europe. He wants them to sign restrictions 
without knowing what they are. 

" No honest man would sign an obligation without first knowing what it 
was. But he wants them to sign Avhatever he likes to impose hereafter, and 
then, with falsehood always at command, he will assert that he has changed 
nothing. He is angry Avith Las Casas because he wrote to his friends that 
he was badly lodged and badly treated. Was there ever heard of such tyr- 
anny ? He treats people in the most barbarous manner, heaps insults and in- 
juries upon them, and then wants to deprive them of the liberty of complaint. 
I do not tliink that Lord Liverpool, or even Lord Castlereagh, would allow 
me to be treated in the way I am. I believe that this governor only writes 
to Lord Batliurst, to whom he tells what he likes." 

October 6. The Emperor, while he was dressing, and waiting for the grand 
marshal to take his turn in writing, amused himself by conversing upon dif- 
ferent subjects. He spoke of the influence of opinion. He traced its secret 
progress, its uncertainty, and the caprice of its decisions. He then adverted 
to the natural delicacy of the French, wdiich, he said, was exquisite in mat- 
ters of decorum, to the laudable susceptibility of French manners, and to the 
graceful action and gentleness which authority must employ if an attempt 
be made to interfere with the national feeling. 

"In conformity with my system," observed he, "of amalgamating all 
kinds of merit, and of rendering one and the same reward universal, I had an 
idea of presenting the cross of the Legion of Honor to Talma, but I refrained 
from doing this in consideration of our capricious manners and absurd preju- 
dices. I wished to make a first experiment in an afitiir that was out of date 
and unimportant, and I accordingly gave the iron crown to Crescentini. The 



1816, October.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 409 

decoration was foreign, and so was the individual on whom it was conferred. 
This circumstance was less likely to attract public notice, or to render my 
conduct the subject of discussion ; at worst, it could only give rise to a few 
malicious jokes. Such is the influence of public opinion. I distributed scep- 
tres at will, and thousands readily bowed beneath their sway ; and yet I 
could not give away a ribbon without the chance of incurring disapprobation, 
for I believe my experiment with regard to Crescentini was a failure."* 

At the dinner-table, the Emperor said that he had worked that day twelve 
hours. 

Octoher 9. Sir Hudson Lowe sought an interview with Dr. O'Meara, and 
informed him that it was his duty to report to the governor all the private 
conversation which had passed between him and General Bonaparte. O'Mea- 
ra declined playing thus the part of a spy, under the guise of being the Em- 
peror's physician. 

"If there were any plot for escape," said the doctor, "I should conceive 
it my duty to give notice of it ; but I can not think of telling every thing 
that passes between us, unless ordered to do so." 

"But one of the means," said the governor, "which General Bonaparte 
has of escaping, is vilifying me. Abusing and lessening the character of the 
ministry is a vile way of endeavoring to escape from the island." 

After a sharp conference, Dr. O'Meara remarked, "If you are not satisfied 
with the manner in which matters stand, I am ready to resign the situation 
I hold. I am determined not to give up my rights as a British officer." 

" We will renew the subject," the governor replied, " some other day." 

Sir Hudson Lowe then went and put under arrest Captain Piontkowski, 
a, Polish officer of the Emperor's household. This was the first of the four 
who was to be sent from Long-wood. All the rest were in dismay, no one 
knowing who would be next arrested. The Emperor, in calm and silent dig- 
nity, awaited his destiny. In that dreary prison, he was in danger of being- 
left, bereft of every friend, till anguish should terminate his days. His only 
refuge was to devote himself as entirely as possible to his intellectual pur- 
suits. In mathematical investigations, in scientific research, in the treas- 
ures of literature, and in dictating his campaigns, the Emperor endeavored to 
forget insult and outrage. About noon Las Casas called at his room. The 
Emperor was sitting alone, silent and dejected. 

The conversation led him to allude to Austria, to the wrongs he had re- 
ceived from that power, to the blind policy of her cabinet, and to the danger 
of her situation. " She now stands," said he, "in the most imminent peril, 
advancing to meet the embraces of a Colossus in her front, while she can not 
recede a single step, because an abyss is yawning on her flanks and rear." 
. This turn of conversation naturally led the Emperor to speak of his son, 

* Talma was a distinguished tragedian, of much intelligence and great moral worth. Crescenti- 
ni was a celebrated singer. Napoleon wished to reward distinction in all the walks of life, and con- 
ferred upon these celebrities the cross of the Legion of Honor. Many of Napoleon's generals and 
statesmen murmured loudly at this. They could not appreciate the capacious views of the Emper- 
or, and wished that these public honors should be conferred only upon political, literary, or military 
renown. 



410 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXVII. 

who was virtually a prisoner in the palace of Schoenbrun. " What educa- 
tion will they give him ?" said he. " What sort of principles will they in- 
graft in his youthful mind ? On the other hand, if he should prove weak in 
intellect ! if he should bear any resemblance to the legitimates ! if they 
should inspire him with hatred of his father ! these thoughts till me with 
horror. And where is the antidote to all this ? Henceforth there can be no 
medium of communication, no faithful tradition between him and me. At 
best, my memoirs, or perhaps your journal, may fall into his hands. But to 
subdue the false precepts imbibed in early life, to counteract the errors of a 
bad education, requires a certain capacity, a certain strength of mind and 
decision of judgment which falls not to the share of every one." 

These thouglits overwhelmed the parental heart of the Emperor, and he 
seemed deeply affected. After a few moments of silent meditation, he said 
suddenly, and Avith emphasis, "Let us talk of something else." 

But the gloom w^hich darkened his spirit was too dense to be dispelled by 
a sudden volition. For some time a profound silence was maintained. The 
Emperor, then rousing himself, requested Las Casas to take the pen, and for 
two hours he dictated a glowing narrative of the eventful past. General 
Bertrand then came in and relieved Las Casas, and the Emperor continued 
his dictation. But the sorrows of this dismal day were not yet ended. 
While the Emperor was thus employed, an official document was presented 
from the governor. Sir Hudson Lowe sent to his writhing captive a pack- 
age of papers, formally reiterating his demands, and imposing new restric- 
tions. The substance of these documents was as follows : 

1. Four persons are to be removed from the Emperor's household. 2. All 
who remain must consent to every restriction imposed upon Napoleon Bona- 
parte. 3. Any attempt or connivance at his escape will be punished with 
death. 4. Any one who treats the governor disrespectfully will be sent from 
St. Helena, and will be set ashore at the Cape of Good Hope, without being 
provided with the means of returning to Europe. 

Another document contained a summary of the severe restrictions which 
the governor had decided to enforce upon Napoleon, and upon all the com- 
panions of his captivity. These restrictions, needless and merciless, were as 
follows : 

1. The limits of their jail-yard were hereafter to consist of the inclosed 
ground at Longwood, and the road, about a mile in length, to Hut's Gate. 
This deprived the inmates of Longwood of the pleasure of calling at the hos- 
pitable house of Secretary General Brooks, and also cut tliem off from the 
favorite resort of a fountain overshadowed by eight or ten oak-trees. 

2. Sentinels were to be stationed along these lines, and no one was to ap- 
proach Longwood witliout permission of the governor. This arrangement 
placed the captives in close and solitary confinement. 

, 3. If the Emperor wished to jirolong his ride beyond the assigned limits, 
he could do so by giving notice to the orderly officer, who was to accompany 
him, and never to allow him, for one moment, to escape his sight. 

4. General Bonaparte was forbidden to enter into any conversation, except 



1816, October.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 411 

the interchange of salutations, with any individuals he might happen to meet, 
even within his accustomed limits, except in the presence of an English offi- 
cer. 

5. Those persons who might receive the governor's permission to visit 
General Bonaparte were forbidden to communicate with any individual what- 
ever of his suite, unless a permission to that effect had been specially ex- 
pressed. 

6. At sunset, the garden of Longwood alone was to be the extent of their 
boundaries. Sentinels were to be posted round it. During the night, sen- 
tinels were to be stationed close to the house. All admission was then pro- 
hibited until the sentinels should be withdrawn in the morning;. 

7. All letters to and from Longwood were to be delivered open to Sir Hud- 
son Lowe, that he might peruse their contents. 

These documents were read to the Emperor by Count Montholon. He 
listened to them calmly, and soon after met his companions at the dinner- 
table. The contents of these papers from the governor, of course, engrossed 
their conversation. The Emperor was thoughtful and sad, and made but few 
remarks himself, as he listened to the observations of the others. Some one 
of the gentlemen spoke in terms of ridicule and contempt of the threat of 
leaving obnoxious persons at the Cape of Good Hope without furnishing 
them with the means of returning to Europe. The Emperor remarked, 
. "Of course, this threat appears to you very extraordinary and ridiculous, 
but no doubt it was perfectly natural to Lord Bathurst. I dare say he could 
not imagine a more terrible punishment. It is a true shop-keeper's idea." 

In the attempt to dispel painful thoughts, the Emperor in the evening 
read to his assembled friends the drama of Adelaide Duguesclin, wliich con- 
tains a glowing eulogy upon the Bourbons. After reading it, he said, 

" During the time of my power, an order was given for suppressing the per- 
formance of this drama, under the idea that it would be offensive to me. This 
circumstance accidentally came to my knowledge, and I ordered the piece to 
be revived. Many things of the same kind took place. People often acted 
very unwisely under the idea that they were serving or pleasing me." 

The Emperor, woe-worn and weary, exposed to blows which he could not 
parry, and to insults which he could not resent, soon retired to the solitude 
and the sleeplessness of his pillow. 

It was well known that the Emperor would never consent to the indignity 
of riding, like a handcuffed criminal, with a guard by his side. Within the 
boundaries to which he was now restricted, there was not a single spot where 
he could enjoy the sight of trees or water. He could not venture out after 
sunset without exposing himself to the insult of being challenged by a sen- 
tinel. A drunken sentinel at one time attempted to shoot him. His friends, 
men of lofty character, and accustomed to homage and respect, were arrested 
and taken to the guard-house for the night if they accidentally delayed their 
return to the house for a few moments after the sun had set. This insult 
had not unfrequently happened. 

What was the crime which Napoleon had committed which drew down 



412 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXVII. 

upon him so merciless an infliction? It was precisely the same crime of 
which George Washington had been guilty. The Americans renounced 
George III., and chose George Washington for their chief magistrate. 
Washington accepted their suffrage, and, aided by the width of the Atlantic 
Ocean and by the alliance of France, in a long and bloody conflict maintain- 
ed the right of popular suffrage and the independence of his country. And 
every generous heart blesses him. 

France, imitating the example of the United States, renounced Louis XVL, 
and chose Napoleon for its sovereign. Napoleon accepted the office. All 
the despots of Europe combined to crush him. Long did Napoleon hold 
them at bay, with almost superhuman energy, courage, and sagacity. But 
at last, overwhelmed by numbers, with nearly two millions of bayonets press- 
ing upon him, he was vanquished. And tlien his unrelenting foes punished 
him with cruelty a thousand fold more dreadful than that of the scaffold or 
the stake. But his glorious labors, and the magnanimity with which he en- 
dured his sufferings, have won for him the love, the enthusiastic love of the 
people of all lands. There are a few ignoble spirits who still venture to ma- 
lign this great champion of popular rights, but they are very few, and hence- 
forth utterly powerless. 

Mysterious is the justice of God. He visits upon the children the iniqui- 
ties of their fathers. Napoleon would have wisely introduced to France and 
to all Europe constitutional governments, sustaining popular supremacy and 
equal rights beneath the aigis of invincible law. But now the great battle 
between aristocracy and democracy is again to be fought. The -apocalyptic 
vials of woe are apparently to be opened, till the blood shall come up to the 
horses' bridles. Is despotism to be triumphant ? Is unenliglitened and mad- 
dened democracy to run riot ? Humanity ponders the question, and is ap- 
palled. 

October 13. At breakfast the Emperor said, " I have given orders for 
drawing up some notes relative to the new restrictions of the governor, to 
prevent condemnation being passed on us without a sort of responsibility 
being attached to those who pass the sentence." He then proceeded to 
calculate the lots of plate which remained to be sold, and the period during 
which they would serve to maintain his establishment. The basket of plate 
which had now been sold brought twelve hundred dollars. This would help 
them for about six weeks. The money was deposited in the hands of the 
English agent for the supply of Longwood. Las Casas repeated offers of pe- 
cuniary assistance which he had before made, saying, " It is hard, sire, that 
you should be reduced to the necessity of disposing of your plate." 

"My dear Las Casas," replied the Emperor, "under whatever circum- 
stances I may be placed, those articles of luxury are never of any importance 
to me ; and as far as regards others, that is to say, as far as regards the pub- 
lic, simplicity will always be my best ornament. I can, as a last resort, claim 
the assistance of Prince Eugene, and I am even inclined to write to him for 
the loans which will be necessary for my subsistence when the plate shall be 
exhausted. I intend to commission Eugene to forward to me some impor- 



1816, October.] residence at longwood. 413 

tant books, wliich I wish should be sent from London, together with a small 
quantity of choice wine, which it is necessary I should take as a medicine. 
This commission for wine will make our enemies in Europe say that we 
think of nothing here but eating and drinking. I shall feel no hesitation in 
addressing myself, on this subject, to Eugene, who owes to me every thing 
he possesses. It would be insulting the character of the prince to doubt his 
readiness to serve me, particularly as I have a legal claim upon him for about 
ten or twelve millions." 

In the course of the day Dr. O'Meara called in to see the Emperor. He 
found him feverish, and suffering from the headache. 

"Truly," said Napoleon, "it requires great resolution and strength of 
mind to support such an existence as mine, in this horrible abode. Every 
day fresh stabs, of the dagger from this executioner ! It appears to be his 
only amusement. Daily he imagines modes of annoying, insulting, and mak- 
ing me undergo fresh privations. He wants to shorten my life by daily irri- 
tations. By his last restrictions I am not permitted to speak to any one I 
may meet. To people under sentence of death, this is not denied. It is a 
piece of tyranny unheard of except in the instance of the man with the iron 
mask. 

"In the tribunals of the Inquisition a man is heard in his own defense, 
but I have been condemned unheard, and without a trial, in violation of all 
laws, divine and human ; detained as a prisoner of war in time of peace ; sep- 
arated from my wife and child ; violently transported here, where arbitrary 
and hitherto unknown restrictions are imposed upon me, extending even to 
the privation of speech. I am sure that none of the ministers, except Lord 
Bathurst, would give their consent to this last act of tyranny. His great 
desire of secrecy shows that he is afraid of his conduct being made known 
even to the ministers themselves. 

" They profess, in England, to supply my wants. This man comes out, 
reduces every thing, obliges me to sell my plate to obtain the necessaries of 
life, imposes arbitrary restrictions, insults me and my followers, denies me 
the faculty of speech, and then has the impudence to write that he has 
changed nothing. He says that, if strangers come to visit me, they can not 
speak to any of my suite, and wishes that they should be presented by him. 
If my son came to the island, and it were required that he should be presented 
by him, I would not see him. You know that it was more a trouble than a 
pleasure for me to receive many of the strangers who arrived, some of whom 
merely came to gaze at me as at a curious heast ; but still it was consoling 
to have the right to see them if I pleased." 

October 14. All the inmates of Longwood sent to. the governor the ac- 
knowledgment of their willingness to submit to whatever restrictions might 
be imposed upon the Emperor Napoleon^ simply substituting those words 
instead of JSfajJtoleon Monajparte. 

In reference to this procedure. Las Casas said that the gentlemen of the 
Emperor's suite had met together to deliberate. "The point in question," 
he says, " was of the most serious and difficult nature. We were required 



414 NAPOLEON AT ST, HELENA. [ChAP. XXVIII. 

to subject ourselves to new restrictions, and to place ourselves entirely in the 
power of the governor, who shamefullj abused his authority. The Emperor, 
indignant at the mortifications to which we Avere exposed on his account, in- 
sisted that we should no longer submit to them. He urged us to quit him, 
to return to Europe, and to bear witness that we had seen him buried alive. 

" But how could we, for a moment, endure this thought ? Death was pref- 
erable to separation from him whom we served, admired, and loved ; to whom 
we became daily more and more attached through his personal qualities, and 
the miseries which injustice and hatred had accumulated upon him." 

With such feelings, they all signed the demands of the British ministers 
as expressed by the governor, with the simple alteration mentioned above. 

The Emperor bore up strongly against these ii-remediable outrages. Las 
Casas, at one o'clock, went into his room. He found liim reading a work 
upon the government of France. He appeared much fatigued and dispirited. 
In conversation, speaking of several individuals, he alluded to one as a very 
base and immoral character. Las Casas, who knew this person, defended 
him with much warmth. The Emperor interrupted him, saying, 

"I give full credit to what you say, but I had heard a diiferent account 
of him ; and though I generally made it a rule to hear things of this kind 
with suspicion, yet you see that I could not always avoid retaining some 
impression of what I heard. Was this my fault ? When I had no partic- 
ular motive for inquiry, how could I arrive at the knowledge of facts ? This 
is the inevitable consequence of civil commotions. There are always two 
reputations between two parties. What absurdities— what ridiculous stories 
are related of the individuals Avho figured in our Revolution ! The saloons 
of Paris are full of them. I have borne my full share of this kind of scan- 
dal. After me, who can have any right to complain ?" 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

1816, October. Continued. 



The Declaration to be signed — Perplexity and Dismay — The Emperor proposes an Incognito — Re- 
marks of the Emperor upon this Subject — Savary — Fouche — Sieyes — Conversation with Sieyes 
— Anecdotes of the Emperor — Enthusiasm of the Parisian Populace — New Vexations — Four 
removed from Longwood. 

October 15. The governor sent back the declaration which the inmates of 
Longwood had signed, threatening to send them immediately to Africa unless 
they signed the paper which styled the Emperor Napoleon Bonajparte. Gen- 
eral Bertrand and Las. Casas immediately called upon the Emperor. He was 
in his narrow and comfortless chamber, and was much annoyed by this new 
source of irritation. As he slowly and thouglitfully paced tlie floor, he said, 

" The insults which are daily lieaped upon those who have devoted them- 
selves to me, insults which there is every probabiHty will be multiplied to a 
still greater extent, present a spectacle whic|i I can not and must not longer 
endure. Gentlemen, you must leave m'e. I can not see you submit to the 



1816, October.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 4I5 

restrictions which are about to be imposed on you, and which will doubtless 
soon be augmented. I will remain here alone. Return to Europe, and 
make known the horrible treatment to which I am exposed ; bear witness 
that you saw me sink into a premature grave. I will not allow any one of 
you to sign this declaration in the form that is required. I forbid it. It 
shall never be said that hands which I had the power to command were em- 
ployed in recording my degradation. If obstacles are raised respecting a 
mere foolish formality, others will be started to-morrow for an equally trivial 
cause. It is determined to remove you in detail, but I would rather see you 
removed altogether and at once. Perhaps this sacrifice may produce a re- 
sult." 

With these words he dismissed the gentlemen. In a few moments he sent 
for Las Casas. He was walking up and down through the whole length of 
his two little rooms. There was a peculiar softness and even tenderness in 
the tone of his voice. 

" Well, my dear Las Casas," said he, "I am going to turn hermit." 

" Sire," replied Las Casas, "are you not one already? What resources 
does our society present to you ? We can only offer you prayers and wishes. 
The arguments which you just now addressed to us admit of no reply. Your 
determination is in unison with your character ; it will astonish no one ; but 
its execution is beyond our power. The thought of leaving you here alone 
exceeds in horror all that our imagination can picture." 

" Such, however, is my fate," replied the Emperor, "and I am ready to 
meet it ; but yet I have sufficient strength to resist to the last. They will 
end my life, that is certain." 

After breakfast the French gentlemen called upon the governor with the 
earnest entreaty that he would not compel them to dishonor their Emperor. 
The governor was unrelenting. He declared that, as an Englishman, he could 
not recognize Napoleon as entitled to the designation of Emperor, and that 
they must immediately sign the paper he had presented, or be sent from the 
island. As Napoleon was dressing for dinner, Las Casas, Bertrand, Montho- 
lon, and Gourgaud had ajiother interview with him. The wind was boister- 
ous, but they walked out toward the wood. The Emperor reviewed the con- 
duct of the governor. He concluded by saying, 

" If to-day you agree to sign the declaration in order to avoid being sep- 
arated from me, to-morrow another ground of expulsion will be brought for- 
ward. I should prefer that your removal should be effected forcibly and at 
once, rather than tranquilly and in detail. But, after all," said he, assuming 
a tone of pleasantry, " I can hardly believe that the governor wishes to re- 
duce his subjects to one only. And what sort of a subject would that one 
be ? An absolute porcupine, on which he would find it impossible to lay a 
finger." 

As they were walking, two strangers approached near to them. The Em- 
peror was informed that they were to sail the next day for Europe, and that 
they would probably see Lord Bathurst. They were presented to the Em- 
peror, and he thus addressed them : 



416 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA [ChAP. XXYIII. 

" Tell Lord Batliurst," said Xapoleon, " that his instructions with respect 
to my treatment here are most odious, and that his agent executes them with 
scrupulous iidelity. If he wishes to get rid of me he should have dispatched 
me at a blow, instead of thus killing me by inches. This conduct is truly 
barbarous. There is nothing English in it ; and I can only attribute it to 
sonie personal hatred. I have too much respect for the Prince Regent, the 
majority of the ministers, and the English nation, to suppose that they are 
responsible for my treatment. Be this as it may, their power extends only 
to the body. The soul is beyond their reach. It will soar to heaven even 
from the dungeon." 

At the dinner-table the Emperor Avas silent and ate biit little. He con- 
cluded the evening by reading to his companions a portion of Don Quixote. 
As all for a moment|rorgot their griefs, and joined the Emperor in laughing 
at some comic passa^-es, he remarked, " We certainly show a great deal of 
courage, since we can laugh at such trifles under our present circumstances."'' 
He paused for a moment, rapt in thought. Then rising, he said, in peculiar- 
ly affectionate tones, "Adieu, my friends," and retired to the solitude of his 
chamber. 

At the dinner-table Las Casas received a letter from the governor, which 
lie did not open until after the Emperor had retired. It was eleven o'clock 
at niii'ht. To his consternation, he read that, in consequence of the refusal 
of the French officers to sign the declaration with the words JVaj)oleon jBo- 
naj>arte, they and the domestics must all depart for the Cape of Good Hope 
histanthj, in a ship Avhich was ready for their reception. The agitation and 
dismay excited by this annoiincement Avcrc intense. These generous men 
were willing: to 2.0 to the scaffold or to the stake from their love for the Em- 
peror. This moral torture brought them to the cruel terms. After the read- 
ing of the letter, there was a moment of profound silence. Cireneral Gour- 
gaud then arose, and almost convulsively exclaimed, "I am going to sign." 
The rest followed his example. The paper containing their signatures was 
immediately, at that late hour, forwarded to the governor, and at midnight 
Sir Hudson Lowe, in the luxury of Plantation House, exulted in having ob- 
tained his pound of flesh. Santini alone declined his signature. He refused 
to sign any paper in which his master was not designated VJLmj)ereur. 

October 16. At half past six o'clock the Emperor sent for O'Meara. "I 
have sent for you," said he, "that you may communicate to the governor my 
real sentiments on certain subjects upon which the governor has conversed 
recently Avith Count Bertrand. I have retained the title of the Emperor 
Napoleon in oppositioii to General Bonaparte, Avhich the English ministry 
wished to give me. AVhenever I am addressed as Cieneral Bonaparte, I feel 
as if it were a slap in the face, because, if the French nation have a right to 
give me one title, they have an equal right to give me another. They may 
call me Jfofisieur jS'a_poIeon ; but as that name is too Avell known, and miglit, 
perhaps, recall recollections which it might be desirable should be forgotten, 
and besides, as it is a name not consonant with the forms of society, it would, 
perhaps, be better to drop it. In that case, I would prefer to be called Colonel 



1816, October.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. " 417 

Meuron, or Baron Duroc. As colonel is a title denoting military rank, perhaps 
it might give umbrage, and therefore probably it would be better to adopt 
that of Baron Duroc, which is the lowest feudal rank. If the governor ac- 
quiesces in either of these names, it shall be adopted. It will remove many 
difficulties which this title has thrown in the way, and will facilitate commu- 
nication. It will be. the first step, as to the propriety of which we both 
agree. I made this same proposition to Admiral Cockburn, who promised to 
refer it to the British government. But I have heard nothing more of the 
matter." 

That O'Meara might make no mistake in reporting these sentiments, the 
Emperor gave him the following paper, containing his proposal to assume an 
incognito. This paper was not to be presented as a document, but merely 
to guide O'Meara in his communication. 

Proposal made hy the Emperor to assume the Incognito. 

" It occurs to me that, in the conversation which has taken place between 
General Lowe and several of those gentlemen, things have been stated rela- 
tive to my position which are not conformable to my ideas. 

" I abdicated into the hands of the representatives of the nation, and for 
the benefit of my son. I went with confidence to England, with intentions 
to live there, or in America, in the most profound retreat ; and, under the 
name of a colonel killed at my side, resolved to remain a stranger to every 
political occurrence, of whatever nature it might be. 

" Arrived on board of the Worthwmberland, I was informed that I was a 
prisoner of war ; that I was to be transported beyond the line ; and that I 
was to be called General Bonaparte. This obliged me to retain ostensibly 
the title of the Emperor Napoleon, in opposition to the name of General Bo- 
naparte, which it was wished should be forced upon me. 

" Seven or eight months ago. Count Montholon proposed to remedy these 
little difficulties, which were rising every moment, by adopting an ordinary 
name. The admiral thought it to be his duty to vsrite on the subject to 
London. There the matter at present rests. 

" A name is now given me" (Napoleon Bonaparte) " which has the advant- 
age of not prejudging the past, but it is not in unison with the forms of so- 
ciety. I am always disposed to take a name which enters into ordinary 
usage, and I reiterate that, when it shall be judged proper to discontinue this 
cruel abode, I am willing to remain a stranger to politics, whatever event may 
occur in the world. Such is my determination, and no other declaration on 
this subject has my sanction." 

Dr. O'Meara, instead of making the communication to the governor, pre- 
sented to him the paper. The governor remarked that it was a very import- 
ant document, and that he would lose no time in forwarding it to the British 
government ! As it was six thousand miles to England, a response might 
be anticipated in the course of eight or ten months. He also informed Dr. 
O'Meara that he must have no official communication whatever with any 

Dd 



418 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXVIII. 

official persons in England about Bonaparte, and insisted that lie should not 
mention a word to them of the proposal Avhich the Emperor had just made ; 
that none of the ministers except Lord Batliurst ought to know any tiling 
about what passed at St. Helena. 

AVhen O'jMeara made a report of his interview to the Emperor, Napoleon 
wished him to recall the paper, as it Avas intended merely as a memorandum, 
and not as a public document.* 

" If Sir Hudson LowCj" said the Emperor, " will make known to General 
Bertrand, or even to me, that he autliorizcs the change of name, and will ad- 
dress mc accordingly, I will write a letter declaring that I will adopt one of 
the names wdiich have been proposed, and will sign it and send it to the gov- 
ernor. One half of the vexations wluch I have experienced here have arisen 
from that title. I abdicated the throne of Erance, but not tlie title of Em- 
peror. I do not call myself Napoleon, Emperor of Erance, but the Emperor 
Napoleon. Sovereigns generally retain their titles. Thus Charles of Spain 
retains the title of king and majesty after haA'ing abdicated in favor of his 
son. If I were in England I Avould not call myself Emperor; but they 
want to make it appear that the Erench nation had not a right to make me 
its sovereign. If they had not a right to make me Emperor, they were 
equally incapable of making mc general. 

"A man, when he is at the head of a few, during the disturbances of a 
countr}', is called a chief of rebels ; but when he succeeds, efiects great ac- 
tions, and exalts his country and himself, from being styled chief of rebels, 
he is called general, sovereign. It is only success Avhicli makes him such. 
Had he been unfortunate, he would be stiU chief of rebels, and would, per- 
haps, perish on a scaflbld. Your nation called Washington a leader of reb- 
els, and refused to acknowledge either him or the Constitution of his coun- 
try ; but his successes obliged them to change and acknowledge both. It is 
success which makes the great man. It Avould appear truly ridiculous in 
me, were it not that your ministers force me to it, to call myself Emperor, 
situated as I am here, and would remind one of those poor wretches in 
Bethlehem, in London, avIio imagine themselves kings amid their chains 
and straw." 

The Emperor then spoke in most affectionate terms of Counts Bertrand, 
Montholon, and Las Casas, for their devoted attachment to his person. 

" They had," said he, " an excellent pretext to go, first by refusing to sign 
Napoleon Bonaparte, and next because I ordered them not to sign. But no ; 
they would have signed the tyrant Bonaj)artc, or any other opprobrious 
name, in order to remain with me in misery here, rather than return to Eu- 
rope, where they might live in splendor. The more your government tries 
to degrade me, so much more respect they will pay to me. They pride them- 

* " The only reply," says Dr. O'Meara, " which his majesty's ministers condescended to make to 
this proposal, was contained in a scurrilous article in the Quarterly Review, No. XXXII., which 
Sir Hudson Lowe took care should be sent to Longwood as soon as it had reached the island. I 
think that I am justified in attributing the article alluded to to some ministerial person, as the trans- 
action was known only to oHicers in their employment and to the establishment at Longwood, and 
it is evident that the persons composing the latter could not have been the authors of it."' 



1816, October.] RESIDENCE at longwood. 419 

selves in paying me more respect now than when I was in the height of my 
glory." 

In continuation of the conversation, O'Meara inquired which he thought 
had "been the best minister of police, Savary or Fouche, adding that both of 
them had a bad reputation in England. 

" Savary," said the Emperor, "is not a bad man; on the contrary, he is 
a man of a good heart, and a brave soldier. You have seen him weep. He 
loves me with the affection of a son. The English who have been in France 
will soon undeceive- your nation. 

"Fouche is a miscreant of all colors — a priest, a Terrorist, and one who 
took an active part in many bloody scenes in the Revolution. He is a man 
who can worm all your secrets out of you with an air of calmness and of un- 
concern. He is very rich, but his riches were badly acquired. There was 
a tax upon gambling-houses in Paris, but, as it was an infamous way of gain- 
ing money, I did not like to profit by it, and therefore ordered that the amount 
of the tax should be appropriated to a hospital for the poor. It amounted 
to some millions ; but Fouche, who had the collecting of the impost, put many 
of them into his own pocket, and it was impossible for me to discover the real 
yearly sum total." 

O'Meara observed that it had excited considerable surprise that, during 
the height of his glory, he had never given a dukedom in France to any jjer- 
son, although he had created many dukes and princes elsewhere. 

The Emperor replied, " Because it would have produced great discontent 
among the people. If, for example, I had made one of my marshals Duke 
of Bourgogne instead of giving him a title derived from one of my victories, 
it would have excited the greatest alarm in Bourgogne, as they would have 
conceived that some feudal rights and territory were attached to the title, 
which the duke would claim ; and the nation hated the old nobility so much, 
that the creation of any rank resembling them would have given universal 
discontent, which I, powerful as I was, dared not venture upon. I instituted 
the new nobility to ecraser the old, and to satisfy the people, as the greatest 
part of those I created had sprung from themselves, and every private soldier 
had a right to look up to the title of duke. I believe that I acted wrong in 
doing even this, as it lessened that system of equality which pleased the peo- 
ple so much ; but, if I had created dukes with a French title, it would have 
been considered as a revival of the old feudal privileges, with which the na- 
tion had been cursed so long." 

October 16. The Emperor remained alone in his cabinet until noon. He 
then sent for Las Casas. He made no allusion to the decision of his friends 
to sign the obnoxious paper. For some reason, the subject was studiously 
avoided. The turn of conversation introduced some anecdotes of former times, 
of which Sieyes was the subject. " While Sieyes was chaplain to the Princess 
of Orleans," said the Emperor, " being one day engaged in performing mass, 
something unexpectedly caused the princess to withdraw during the service. 
The abbe, looking up, and seeing only the valets present, immediately closed 
his book, observing that he was not engaged to perform mass to the rabble." 



420 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXVIII. 

Las Casas repeated an anecdote of the Faubourg St. Germain, in which 
Sieyes was described as having used the epithet tyrant in speaking of Louis 
XVI., to which Napoleon was said to have rephed, "Monsieur Abbe, if lie had 
been a tja-ant I should not be here, and you would still be performing mass." 

" I might have thought so," said the Emperor, " but I should certainly not 
have been foolish enough to say so. This is one of the absurd stories in- 
vented in the draAving-rooms of Paris. I never committed blunders of that 
kind. My object was to extinguish, and not to feed the flame. The toiTcnt 
of hostility was already too forcibly directed against certain leaders of the 
Revolution. I found it necessary to support and countenance them, and I 
did so. Some one having procured, I know not where, a bust of Sieyes in 
his ecclesiastical character, it was publicly exhibited, and occasioned a uni- 
versal uproar. Sieyes, in a furious passion, set out to make a complaint to 
me, but I had already given the necessary reprimand, and the bust was again 
consigned to obscurity. 

"My great principle," continued the Emperor, "was to guard against re- 
action, and to bury the past in oblivion. I never condemned any opinion, 
nor proscribed any act. I was surrounded by the men who had voted for 
the death of Louis XYL They were in tlie ministry and in the Council of 
State. I did not approve of their doctrines ; but what had I to do with them? 
What right had I to constitute myself their judge ? Some had been actuated 
by conviction, others by weakness and terror, and all by the delirium and 
fiiry of the moment. The fatality of the Greek tragedy was exempUtied in 
the life of Louis XYL" 

"It was reported in the Faubourg St. Germain," said Las Casas, "that 
Sieyes had been detected in a conspiracy against you in the affair of M. 
Clement de Ris, and that you pardoned him on condition of his entu-ely with- 
drawing himself from any participation in public aftairs." 

" This is another idle story for which there is not the slightest foundation," 
replied the Emperor. " Sieyes was always attached to me, and I never had 
any cause to complain of him. lie w^as probably vexed to find that I op- 
posed his metaphysical ideas, but he was at length convinced that it was nec- 
essary for France to have a ruler, and he preferred me to any other. Sieyes 
was, after all, an honest and a very clever man. He did much for the Eev- 
olution. 

" At one of the first public festivals that took place during the Consulate," 
continued the Emperor, " as I was viewing the illuminations in company 
with Sieyes, I asked him what he thought of the state of affairs. He replied 
in a cold and even disheartening tone. ' And yet,' said I, ' I had this morn- 
ing very satisflictory proofs of the spirit of the people.' 

" ' It is seldom,' replied he, 'that the people show their real spirit when 
the man who is possessed of power presents himself to their gaze. I can as- 
sure you they are far from being satisfied.' 

"'Then you do not think the present government firraly established?' 
said I. 

" ' No.' 



RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



421 



1816, October.] 

" 'And when do you suppose we shall be settled ?' 

" 'When I see the dukes and marquises of the old court in your ante- 
chamber,' he replied. 

" Sieyes little dreamed that this would so soon be the case. He was 
short-sighted, and could not see very far before him. I thought, as he did, 
that all coiild not end with the Republic, but I foresaw the establishment of 
the empire. Accordingly, two or three years afterward, the circumstance I 
have just related being still fresh in my recollection, I said to Sieyes at one 
of my grand audiences, 

" ' Well, you are now jpele-mele with all the old dukes and marquises ; 
do you think all is settled now ?' 

" 'Oh yes,' replied Sieyes, bowing profoundly, 'you have accomplished 
miracles, which were never before equaled, and which I never could have 
foreseen.' " 




NAPOLEON INCOGNITO. 



422 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELExNA. [ChAP. XXVIII. 

"During the Consulate, and even during the Empire," continues Las 
Casas, " Napoleon used, at public festivals, to go out late at night incognito 
for the purpose of seeing the shows, and liearing the sentiments of the people. 
He once Avent out in this way accompanied by Maria Louisa, and they both 
walked, arm in arm, on the Boulevards, highly amused at seeing their majes- 
ties, the Emperor and Empress, and all the grandees of the court, represent- 
ed in the magic lanterns." 

"During the Consulate," said Napoleon, "I was once standing in front 
of the Hotel de la Marine, viewing a public illumination. Beside me was a 
lady, who, to all appearance, had formerly moved in a distinguished sphere, 
accompanied by her daughter, a very pretty girl, to whom she was pointing- 
out all the persons of note as they passed to and fro in the apartments. 
Calling her daughter's attention to a certain individual, she said, 

" ' Remind me to go and pay my respects to him some day. We ought 
to do so, for he has rendered us great service.' 

" 'But, mother,' replied the young lady, 'I did not know that we were 
expected to show gratitude to such people. I thought they were too happy 
in being able to oblige persons of our quality.' 

"Certainly," said the Emperor, as he related this anecdote, "La Bruyere 
would have turned this incident to good account." 

Napoleon frequently went out early in the morning, traversing the streets 
of the capital, and conversing familiarly with the laboring people in the mar- 
kets and the faubouro-.s. In the Council of State he often advised the Pre- 
feet of Police t# adopt this plan, that he might ascertain with certainty the 
true state of public sentiment. This he called his Calif system of police. 

On his return from the disasters of Leipsic he appeared frequently in the 
midst of the crowds in the market-place. One day, a woman of enormous 
obesity, with whom he had been holding a little dialogue, told him bluntly 
that he ought to make peace. 

" Good woman," said the Emperor, " sell your herbs, and leave me to set- 
tle my affairs. Let every one attend to his own calling." 

The by-standers supported the Emperor with shouts of applause. 

On another occasion, in these days of gathering disaster and gloom, the 
Emperor had collected around him an immense concourse of people in the 
Faubourg St. Antoine, which was occupied by the most humble of the Paris- 
ian populace. 

"Are affairs," some one inquired, "really as bad as they are represented 
to be ?" 

" Certainly," the Emperor replied, " I can not say that things are going 
on very well." 

" But what will be the end of this ?" 

" Heaven only knows," the Emperor answered. 

"Will the enemy enter France?" 

" Very possibly," said the Emperor. " And he may even march to Paris 
if you do not assist me. I have not a million of arms. I can not do all by 
my own individual efforts." 



1816, October.] 



RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. , 



423 




THE EMPEROR AND THE MARKET-WOMAN. 



" We will support you," exclaimed a number of voices. 

" Then I shall beat the enemy and preserve the glory of France," the Em- 
peror replied. 

"But what must we do ?" was the inquiry. 

"You must enlist and fight," said the Emperor. 

" We will," said one of the crowd ; " but we must make a few conditions. 
We will not pass the frontiers." 

"You shall not be required to do so," said the Emperor. 

The air instantly resounded with acclamations. Registers were imme- 
diately opened, and two thousand men enlisted in the course of the day. 
Napoleon returned to the Tuileries. As he entered the Place Carrousel sur- 
rounded by the multitude, whose acclamations rent the air, it was supposed 
that an insurrection had broken out, and the gates were about to be closed. 

After the Emperor's return from Elba he made a similar visit to the Fau- 
bourg St. Antoine, and Avas conducted in a similar way back to the Tuile- 
ries. In passing through the Faubourg St. Germain, where were the palaces 
of the old nobility, who were in favor of the Bourbons, the multitude halted 
before some of the principal mansions, and manifested their hostile feelings 
by words and gestures. In alluding to this event, the Emperor said, 

" I had scarcely ever been placed in so delicate a situation. How many 
evils might have ensued had a single stone been thrown by the mob ! Had 



424 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXVIII. 

a single imprudent word, or even an equivocal look, escaped me, the whole 
faubourg might have been destroyed. And*I am convinced that its preser- 
vation was to be attributed wholly to my presence of mind, and the respect 
which the multitude entertained for me." 

The day was tempestuous, and a violent gale, sweeping over the bleak 
rock, rendered it impossible for the Emperor to enjoy his accustomed walk. 
His appetite failed, and at an early hour he retired to his bed, saying that he 
was afraid that he should not sleep, his sensations were so extraordinary. 

October 17. The Emperor was but little refreshed by the repose of the 
night. He awoke languid and dejected, and at noon, immediately after break- 
fast, he sent for Las Casas. A strange lethargy still oppressed him. He 
endeavored to converse a little, and then read a few pages of the Vicar of 
Wakefield in English. Still complaining of drowsiness, he retired to his 
chamber for a nap. He did not rise again until dinner was ready. After 
dinner he endeavored to read Don Quixote ; but the strange lethargy still 
continuing, he laid down the book and retired. After he had gone to bed he 
sent for Las Casas, and conversed with him for nearly an hour. 

October 18. The weather was dismal in the extreme ; still, the Emperor, 
though indisposed and very low-spirited, employed most of the day in his 
narrow and comfortless cabinet, dictating to General Bertrand. At five 
o'clock, all the individuals of his suite were invited to his apartment. 

" The state of the weather," says Las Casas, "joined to the vexations to 
which we are exposed, concur in producing torments almost beyond endur- 
ance. The weather has an effect on the nerves, and the persecutions that 
are heaped upon us are still worse to bear. Every word uttered by the gov- 
ernor increases our misery. To-day he had signified liis intention of remov- 
ing four of our establishment, which has been the cause of general lamenta- 
tion among the household. The individuals singled out for removal regret 
their separation from their companions, while those who are to remain are 
tormented by the fear of speedily sharing the same fate. We compared Sir 
Hudson Lowe to Scylla devouring the four companions of Ulysses. The gov- 
ernor has informed me that he also intends removing my servant, who is an 
inhabitant of the island, and with whom I am very well satisfied. He is 
doubtless afraid that the man will become too much attached to me. He 
proposes to send me a servant of his own choosing, a favor for which I feel 
very grateful, though I have no intention of availing myself of the kind offer." 

The individuals whom the governor had selected to send away were Cap- 
tain Piontkowski, Rousseau, Santini, and Archambaud, who was the Em- 
peror's driver. A careful driver was very necessary over the rgugh and crag- 
gy roads of St. Helena. Arcliambaud had also a brother with the Emperor, 
and, on that account, was additionally reluctant to leave. For these reasons, 
Count Montholon, acting in behalf of the Emperor, urged the selection of 
some other servant instead of Archambaud. But the governor Avas inexor- 
able. "By taking away my driver," said the Emperor, "he wishes to pre- 
vent me from taking a little caniage exercise." 

"At dinner," says Las Casas, "the Emperor ate but little. During the 



1816, October.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 425 

dessert, however, his spirits 4-evived somewhat, and we began to converse on 
the events of his early Hfe. This is a subject on which he delights to dwell, 
and which always affords him a source of new and lively interest. He said 
that he loved to carry himself back to that happy age when all is gayety and 
enjoyment, that happy period of hope and rising ambition, when the world 
first opens before us, and the mind fondly cherishes every romantic dream. 
He spoke of his regiment, and the pleasures he had enjoyed when he first 
mingled with society. He reverted to the circumstances that first called him 
into notice, the sudden ascendency which he acquired by his first successes, 
and the ambition with which they inspired him." 

"And yet," said the Emperor, "I was far from entertaining a high opin- 
ion of myself. It was not till after the battle of Lodi that I conceived those 
lofty notions of ambition, which were confirmed in Egypt, after the victory 
of the Pyramids and the possession of Cairo. Then I willingly resigned my- 
self to every brilliant dream." 

In such converse the Emperor became animated and cheerful, and did not 
retire until midnight. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

1816, October. Continued. 

Intellectual Employments — Sale of Plate — Madam de Stael — Baron Larrey — Remarks on the pe- 
culiar Situation of the Emperor — ^Expenses at St. Helena — Marshal Jourdan — The Russian War 
— The Chamber of Sickness — Lord Exmouth's Expedition — The Debt of England — Wellington 
and Waterloo — Sailors — Heartlessness of the Governor — Affecting Scene — Immorality — Want 
of M^ater — Playfulness of the Emperor — Thoughts on Italy. 

October 19. The four individuals taken from the Emperor's household 
were to-day embarked for the Cape of Good Hope. The Emperor settled 
upon each of them an annual pension. Their persons and baggage were 
carefully examined lest they should take any communications to Europe. 
"Piontkowski," says O'Meara, "was stripped to the skin." 

The Emperor remained in his room all the day, endeavoring, by reading 
and dictation, to forget the indignities heaped upon him. He uttered not a 
word of repining. , His noble spirit endured in silence. In the evening, for 
a short time, he read aloud to his companions from the Arabian Nights ; but 
he soon grew weary, laid aside his book, and retired. 

October 20. Count Bertrand and family moved from Hut's Gate, which 
was about three miles distant, to rooms which were now prepared for them 
at Longwood. The Emperor passed the whole day in his room, in intense 
intellectual occupation. 

October 21. Another dismal day of rain, and mist, and howling wind dark- 
ened over the unhappy captives. As the Emperor was dressing in the morn- 
ing, he said to Las Casas, 

" I am determined to apply once more regularly to my occupations, which 
have been interrupted by the late ill treatment from our horrible governor." 



426 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXIX. 

"The governor will only give," Las Casas iiecords, "for the Emperor's 
plate, a sum which is more than a fifth less than the plate is valued at in 
Paris ; and yet he will neither allow any competition for the sale of it in 
the island, nor of its being taken to London." The English ministers seem- 
ed determined to extort from the Emperor the knowledge of the places where 
he had funds deposited in Europe. 

Xapoleon went into his library. In the course of conversation Madam de 
Stael was mentioned. 

" Her house," he said, " had become quite an arsenal against me. People 
went there to be armed knig-hts. She endeavored to raise enemies against 
me, and fought against me herself. She was at once Armida and Clorinda. 
It can not be denied that Madam de Stael is a very distinguished woman, 
endowed with great talents, and possessing a considerable share of wit. She 
will go down to posterity. . It was more than once hinted to me, in order to 
soften me in her favor, that she was an adversary to be feared, and might be- 
come a useful ally. It might, no doubt, have proved advantageous to me 
if she had spoken in my praise instead of reviling me as she did, for her po- 
sition and abilities gave her absolute sway over the saloons, and their influ- 
ence in Paris is well known. 

" Notwithstanding all tliat she has said against me, and all she will say 
yet, I am certainly far from saying or thinking she had a bad heart. The 
fact is, that she and I have waged a little war against each other, and that 
is all." 

Then taking a review of the numerous writers who have declaimed against 
him, he said, " I am destined to be their food, but I have little fear of be- 
coming their victim. They will bite against granite. My history is made 
up of facts, and words alone can not destroy them. In order to fight against 
me successfully, somebody should appear in the lists armed with the weight 
and authority of facts on his side. If such a man as the great Frederick, or 
any other man of his cast, were to take to ^vriting against me, then it would 
be a different thing. It would then, perhaps, be time for me to begin to be 
moved, but as for all other writers, whatever be their talent, their efforts Avill 
be vain. My fame will survive, and when they wish to be admired they 
will sound my praise." 

Dr. O'Meara dined this day at Plantation House with the commissioners 
of the Allies. They complained bitterly that they had not yet seen Napo- 
leon, and that they would be objects of ridicule in Europe as soon as it 
should be known that they had been so many months in St. Helena without 
ever once even seeing the individual to ascertain whose presence was the sole 
object of their mission. But the Emperor very properly refused to see them 
in their official capacity as spies appomted over him by his proud oppressors, 
and Sir Hudson Lowe was determined that they should not be presented in 
any other way. The commissioners complained severely of St. Helena, say- 
ing that it was " the worst abode in the world." 

October 23. The weather still continued dark, wet, and stormy. The Em- 
peror could take no exercise, and was suffering much from tlie severity of the 



1816, October.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 427 

climate. One of his cheeks was bacllj swollen, and he suffered much pain. 
He said to Dr. O'Meara, 

" There is either a furious wind with fog, which gives me a swelled face 
when I go out, or, when that is wanting, there is a sun which scorches my 
brains for want of shade. Thej continue me purposely in the worst part of 
the island. When I was at the Briers, I had at least the advantage of a 
shady walk and of a mild climate. 'But here they will arrive at the end they 
seek more speedily." 

In conversation with Las Casas, the Emperor spoke of the celebrated sur- 
geon, Baron Larrey. 

"Larrey," said he, "left the impression on my mind of a true, honest 
man. To science he united in the highest degree the virtue of active philan- 
thropy. He looked upon all the wounded as belonging to his family. Ev- 
ery consideration gave way before the care which he bestowed upon the hos- 
pitals. In our first campaigns under the Republic, a most fortunate revolu- 
tion took place in the surgical department, which has since spread to all the 
armies of Europe, and to Larrey it is, in great measure, that mankind is in- 
debted for it. The surgeon now shares the dangers of the soldier. It is in 




BAKON LAKBBY. 



428 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXIX. 

the midst of the fire that he devotes his cares to him. Larrej possesses all 
my esteem and my gratitude." 

The Emperor, in his will, remembered this great and good man, coupling 
with his name the following magnificent expression of his esteem : " He was 
the most virtuous man I have ever known.'''' 

October 24. The Emperor, sick, dejected, and in pain, kept his room all 
the day and until ten o'clock at night, se^ng no one, and partaking of no re- 
freshment except a little soup. He had employed eighteen hours of the day 
reading. Two hours before midnight he sent for Las Casas, and entered 
upon the subject of their pecuniary resources. It had again become neces- 
sary to dispose of some more plate. Las Casas reiterated, and with urgency, 
an offer he had previously made of four thousand Louis [$20,000] which he 
had in the English funds. The Emperor now consented to accept them. 
He could repay Las Casas upon the return of the count to Europe. 

"Mine," said the Emperor, "is a singular situation. I have no doubt 
that if a communication were allowed with me, and that my relatives, or even 
many strangers, could suspect that I am in want, I should soon be amply 
provided with every thing that I require. But ought I to be a burden to 
my friends, and expose them to the undue advantage which the English min- 
isters might take of their good-will. I have applied to these ministers for 
a few books, and they have sent them to me with all the inattention and 
neglect of a careless agent. They claim from me nearly ten thousand dol- 
lars for what I might certainly have procured for less than two thousand. 
Would it not be the' same with every thing else ? If I accept what you 
offer, it must be strictly applied to our immediate wants ; for, after all, we 
must live, and we really can not live upon what they give us. The small 
addition of one hundred Louis [$500] per month would just be sufficient, 
and that is the sum which you must ask for, and appropriate accordingly."* 

October 25. It was a fine day. The Emperor was very feeble, and, ac- 
companied by Las Casas, took a short walk. He had not been out of his 
room for ten days. While walking, the younger Archambaud came up with 
the calash, driving four-in-hand. The Emperor declined getting in, as he did 
not think it safe to trust to so inexperienced a driver on roads so rough and 
perilous ; but Archambaud said that, since his brother's departure, he had 
regularly practiced driving, and was sure that he could be trusted. The 
Emperor took a short ride, and called upon General Bertrand at his new res- 
idence. The evening was employed in reading the Medea of Longepierre. 
The Emperor ordered the celebrated Greek tragedy of Euripides on the same 
subject to be brought, and compared the two. 

On returning to his chamber, he threw himself upon the sofa, and, happen- 
ing to cast his eye on a list of the French marshals, he passed them all in 
review. He dwelt for a long; time on Marshal Jourdan. 

o 

* A London paper of this date gives the following as the exorbitant price of provisions at St 
Helena : " Turkeys, seven and a half dollars each ; geese, ten dollars ; fowls, and these very bad, 
four and a half d ''liars a pair ; potatoes, four dollars a bushel ; butter, one dollar and a quarter a 
pound ; cheese, seventy -five cents a pound ; East India produce very high, as also European goods." 



1816, October.] RESIDENCE at LONGWOOD. 429 

"I certainly," said lie, "used that man very ill, and it was, of course, 
natural to expect that he would dislike me ; but I have learned with pleas- 
ure that, since my fall, he invariably acted in the best manner. He has thus 
aiForded an example of that praiseworthy elevation of mind which distin- 
guishes men one from another. Jourdan is a true patriot, and that is an an- 
swer to many things which have been said of him." 

Then speaking of the Russian war, he said, 

" The Russian war should have been the most popular of any in modern 
times. It was a war of good sense and true interests ; a war for the repose 
and security of all. It was purely pacific and preservative, entirely Euro- 
pean and Continental. Its success would have established a balance of 
power, and would have introduced new combinations, by which the dangers 
of the time present would have been succeeded by future tranquillity. In 
this case, ambition had no share in my views. In raising Poland, which was 
the keystone of the whole arch, I would have permitted a king of Prussia, 
an archduke of Austria, or any other, to occupy the throne. I had no wish 
to obtain any new acquisition, and I reserved to myself the glory of doing 
good, and the blessings of posterity. 

" Yet this undertaking failed and proved my ruin, though I never acted 
more disinterestedly, and never better merited success. As if popular opin- 
ion had been seized with contagion in a moment, a general outcry, a general 
sentiment arose against me. I was proclaimed to be the destroyer of kings 
— I, who had created them ! I was denounced as the subverter of the rights 
of nations — I, who was about to risk all to secure them ! And people and 
kings, those irreconcilable enemies, leagued together and conspired against 
me ! All the acts of my past Hfe were now forgotten. I said truly that 
popular favor would return to me with victory ; but victory escaped me, and 
I was ruined. Such is mankind, and such is my history. But both people 
and kings will have cause to regret me, and my memory will be sufficiently 
avenged for the injustice committed upon me. That is certain." 

October 26. The Emperor was very unwell, and desired Las Casas to at- 
tend him. He found Napoleon in his chamber, with a handkerchief bound 
around his head. He was seated in an arm-chair before a large fire which 
he had ordered to be kindled. 

"What," said he, "is the severest disorder, the most acute pain, to which 
human nature is subject ?" 

" The pain of the present moment always appears to be most severe," re- 
plied Las Casas. 

" Then it is the toothache," said the Emperor. His right cheek was much 
swollen and inflamed. Las Casas was alone in attendance upon him, and al- 
ternately warmed a flannel and a napkin, which he kept constantly applied 
to the part affected, and the Emperor said he felt greatly relieved by it. He 
was also affected with a severe nervous cough, and occasionally a yawning 
and shivering, which denoted approaching fever. 

"What a miserable thing is man!" said he; "the smallest fibre in his 
body, assailed by disease, is sufficient to derange his whole sysfem ! On the 



430 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXIX. 

other hand, in spite of all the maladies to which he is subject, it is some- 
times necessary to employ the executioner to put an end to him. What a 
curious machine is this earthly clothing ! And perhaps I may be confined 
in it for thirty years longer ! " 

He attributed his toothache to his late drive, as he had felt singularly af- 
fected by being out in the open air. " Nature is always the best counselor," 
said he. " I went out in spite of my inclination, and only in obedience to 
reason." He then spent the remainder of the day in his chamber, occasion- 
ally suffering severely from toothache. At intervals, when the pain abated, 
he walked up and down, between his chamber and the sofa, and conversed on 
different subjects. Alluding to an individual who had behaved very ill to 
him in 1814, he said, 

" Probably you will suppose he fled on my return ; but no such thing ; on 
the contrary, I was beset by him. He very coolly acknowledged that he had 
felt a transient attachment for the Bourbons, for which, however, he assured 
me he had been heartily punished. But this, he said, had served only to re- 
vive the natural affection which all so justly entertained for me. I spurned 
him from me, and I have good reason to believe that he is now at the feet of 
the royal family, relating all sorts of horrors about me. ]\Ian is always and 
every where alike." 

Dr. O'jMeara called to visit his sick and suffering patient. The conversa- 
tion turned upon Lord Exmouth's expedition to punish the pirates of the 
Barbary coast, and O'Meara inquired of the Emperor his opinion respecting 
the probability of success. 

"I think that the expedition will succeed," said Napoleon, "especially if 
the fleet takes and destroys as many of the Algerine ships as it can, and 
then anchors opposite the town, and does not allow a single ship or vessel, 
not even a fishing-boat, to enter or go out. Continue that for a short time, 
and the Dey will submit, or else the populace will revolt and murder him, 
and afterward agree to any terms you like. But no treaty will be kept by 
them. It is a disgrace to the powers of Europe to allow so many nests of 
robbers to exist. Even the Neapolitans could put a stop to it, instead of al- 
lowing themselves to be robbed. They have upward of fifty thousand sea- 
men in the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, and with their navy they might 
easily prevent a single Barbary ship from stirring out." 

0']\leara observed that the Neapolitans were so great cowards at sea, that 
the Algerines had the utmost contempt for them. 

" They are cowards by land as well as by sea," replied the Emperor, " but 
that might be remedied by proper officers and discipline. At Amiens I pro- 
posed to your government to unite with me either to entirely destroy those 
nests of pirates or at least to destroy their ships and fortresses, and make 
them cultivate their country and abandon piracy. But your ministers would 
not consent to it, owing to a mean jealousy of the Americans, with whom the 
barbarians were at war. I wanted to annihilate them, though it did not con- 
cern me much, as they generally respected my Hag, and carried on a large 
trade with ]\IarseiUes." 



1816, October.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 431 

O'Meara asked if lie thought it would be advisable for Lord Exmouth to 
disembark his marines and seamen, and attack the town of Algiers. 

"Oh no," replied he; "if he has but a small force, he will get half his 
men killed by the rabble in the houses and batteries ; and it is not worth 
sending a large one, unless you are determined to destroy their power alto- 
gether." 

* After this, the conversation turned upon the national debt, and the great 
weight of taxes in England. Napoleon professed himself doubtful that the 
English could now continue to manufacture goods so as to be able to sell 
them at the same price as those made in France, in consequence of the actu- 
al necessaries of life being so much dearer in England than in France. He 
professed his disbelief that the nation could support the immense weight of 
taxes, the dearness of provisions, and the extravagance of a bad adminis- 
tration. 

"When I was in France," continued he, "with four times the extent of 
territory, and four times the population, I never could have raised one half 
of your taxes. How the English people bear it, I qan not conceive. The 
French would not have suffered one fourth of them. Notwithstanding your 
great successes, which are, indeed, almost incredible, and to which accident, 
and perhaps destiny, have much contributed, I do not think that you are yet 
out of the scrape. Though you have the world at command, I do not believe 
that you will ever be able to get over your debt. Your great commerce has 
kept you up. But that will fail when you shall no longer be able to under- 
sell the manufacturers of other nations, who are rapidly improving. A few 
years will show if I am right. 

"The worst thing England has ever done," continued he, "was that of 
endeavoring to make herself a great military nation. In attempting that, 
England must always be the slave of Russia, Austria, or Prussia, or at least 
subservient to some of them, because you have not a population sufficiently 
numerous to combat on the Continent with France, or with any of the pow- 
ers I have named, and must consequently hire men from some of them ; 
whereas, at sea, you are so superior — your sailors are so much better, that 
you can always command the others, with safety to yourselves, and with lit- 
tle comparative expense. Your soldiers have not the requisite qualities for 
a military nation. They are not equal in address, activity, or intelligence to 
the French. When they get from under the fear of the lash, they obey no- 
body. In a retreat they can not be managed. And if they meet with wine, 
they are so many demons, and adieu to subordination. I saw the retreat of 
Moore, and I never witnessed any thing like it. It was impossible to col- 
lect, or to make them do any thing. Nearly all were drunk. Your officers 
depend for promotion upon interest or money. Your soldiers are brave, no- 
body can deny it ; but it was bad policy to encourage the military mania in- 
stead of sticking to your marine, which is the real force of your country, and 
one which, while you preserve it, will always render you powerful. In order 
to have good soldiers, a nation must always he at war. 

"If you had lost the battle of Waterloo," continued he, "what a state 



432 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP.'XXIX. 

would England have been in ! The flower of your youth would have been 
destroyed, for not a man, not even Lord Wellington, would have escaped." 

O'Meara observed that Lord Wellington had determined never to leave 
the field alive. 

Napoleon replied, " He could not retreat. He would have been destroyed 
with his army if, instead of the Prussians, Grouchy had come up." 

O'Meara asked if he had not believed for some time that the Prussians who 
iiad shown themselves were a part of Grouchy's corps. 

" Certainly," he replied ; " and I can now scarcely comprehend why it was 
a Prussian division and not that of Grouchy." 

O'Meara then took the liberty of asking whether, if neither Grouchy nor 
the Prussians had arrived, it would not have been a drawn battle. 

"The English army," Napoleon answered, "would have been destroyed. 
They were defeated at midday. But accident, or, more likely, destiny, de- 
cided that Lord Wellington should gain it. I could scarcely believe that he 
would have given me battle, because, if he had retreated to Antwerp, as he 
ought to have done, I must have been overwhelmed by the armies of three 
or four hundred tliousand men that were coming against me. By giving me 
battle there w^as a chance for me. It was the greatest folly to disunite the 
English and Prussian armies. They ought to have been united, and I can 
not conceive the reason of their separation. It was folly in Wellington to 
give me battle in a place where, if defeated, all must have been lost, for he 
could not retreat. There was a wood in his rear, and but one road to gain 
it. He would have been destroyed. 

" Moreover, he allowed himself to be surprised by me. This was a great 
fault. Lie ought to have been encamped from the beginning of June, as he 
must have known that I intended to attack him. He might have lost every 
thing. But he has been fortunate ; his destiny has prevailed, and every 
thing he did will meet with applause. My intentions were to attack and to 
destroy the English. This, I knew, would produce an immediate change of 
ministry. The indignation against them for having caused the loss of forty 
thousand of the flower of the English army would have excited such a pop- 
ular commotion that they would have been turned out. The people would 
have said, ' What is it to us who is on the throne of France — Louis or Na- 
poleon ? Are we to sacrifice all our blood in endeavors to place on the 
throne a detested family ? No ; we have suffered enough. It is no affair 
of ours. Let them settle it among themselves.' They would have made 
peace. The Saxons, Bavarians, Belgians, Wurtembergers, would have join- 
ed me. The coalition was nothing without England. The Russians would 
have made peace, and I should have been quietly seated on the throne. 
Peace would have been permanent, as what could France do after the treaty 
of Paris ? What was to be feared from her ? 

" These," continued he, " were my reasons for attacking the English. I 
had beaten the Prussians. Before twelve o'clock I had succeeded. I may 
say every thing was mine, but accident and destiny decided it otherwise. 
Doubtless the English fought most bravely ; nobody can deny it. But they 



1816, October.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 433 

must liave been destroyed. Pitt and his politics nearly ruined England by 
keeping up a Continental war with France." 

O'Meara remarked that it was asserted by many able politicians in En- 
gland that, if England had not carried on that war, she woifld have been ru- 
ined, and ultimately have become a province of France. 

"It is not true," said Napoleon. "England being at war with France, 
gave the latter a pretense and an opportunity of extending her conquest under 
me to the length she did, until I became emperor of nearly all the world, 
which could not have happened if there had been no war." 

The conversation then turned upon the occupation of Malta. " Two days," 
said the Emperor, "before Lord Whitworth left Paris, an offer was made to 
the minister and to others about me of thirty millions of francs [$6,000,000], 
and to acknowledge. me as King of France, provided I would give up Malta 
to you. The war, however, would have broken out, had Malta been out of 
the question." 

Some conversation then took place relative to English seamen. Napoleon 
observed that the English seamen were as much superior to the French as 
the latter were to the Spaniards. O'Meara said that he thought the French 
would never make good seamen, on account of their impatience and volatility 
of temper. That especially they would never submit without complaining, as 
the English had done at Toulon, to blockade ports for years together, suffer- 
ing from the combined effects of bad weather, and of privations of every kind. 

"I do not agree with you there. Sir Doctor," said the Emperor, "but I 
do not think that they will ever make as good seamen as yours. The sea is 
yours. Tour seamen are as much superior to ours as the Dutch were once 
to yours. I think, however, that the Americans are better seamen than 
yours, because they are less numerous." 

O'Meara observed that the Americans had a considerable number of En- 
glish seamen in their service who passed for Americans, Avhich was remark- 
able, as, independent of other circumstances, the American discipline on board 
of men-of-war was much more severe than the English ; and that, if the Amer- 
icans had a large navy, they would find it impossible to have so many able 
seamen in each ship as they had at present. When O'Meara observed that 
the American discipline was more severe than theirs, the Emperor smiled and 
said, " That is difficult to believe." 

October 27. The Emperor passed the whole day upon the sofa, or sitting 
in his arm-chair before the fire. He suffered much pain in his head and 
teeth. Las Casas applied warm flannel and napkins to his cheek, from which 
he experienced much relief. The Emperor seemed very grateful to Las Casas 
for his kind nursing. He several times placed his hand upon his secretary's 
shoulder, saying, " My dear Las Casas, my hospitable brother, you relieve 
me very much." Soothed by these remedies and exhausted by a sleepless 
night, he fell into a doze, but in a few moments a violent return of pain and 
severe chills awoke him. He continued in this state until late in the evening, 
taking no refreshment except a little toast and water, which he prepared him- 
self, and in which he put some sugar and orange-flowers. 

E E 



434 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXIX. 

Dr. O'Meara called. The Emperor, in these hours of pain and languor, 
thought of the friends from whom he was so cruelly torn. The memory of 
his beloved Josephine came rushing upon him, and he spoke of her in terms 
of glowing affection. O'Meara was deeply moved by the sufferings of his 
illustrious patient, and, calling upon Sir IKidson Lowe, informed him that 
the Emperor attributed his indisposition to the bleak and exposed situation 
of Longwood, and that he earnestly desired to be removed either to the 
Briers or to the other side of the island. This merciless man heartlessly 
replied, 

" The fact is that General Bonaparte wants to get Plantation House ; but 
the East India Company will not consent to have so fine a plantation given 
to a set of Frenchmen to destroy the trees and ruin the gardens." 

At eight o'clock in the evening O'Meara called again, and urged the Em- 
peror to take some medicine. Napoleon mildly yet firmly declined. 

"I have never," said he, "taken any medicine since my childhood. I 
know my own constitution, and am convinced that even a very small dose 
would produce violent effects. Moreover, its effects will be contrary to the 
efforts of nature. I will trust to diet." 

At nine o'clock, after the Emperor had retired, he desired that all his suite 
might come to his chamber. They assembled affectionately in his narrow 
room, the gentlemen and the ladies, around his bedside. It was, indeed, a 
scene for the painter. These loving friends, not one of whom Avas allied to 
the Emperor by blood, had followed him six thousand miles, to the ocean's 
most dreary rock, to share his prison and his fate. They took the place 
which wife, child, mother, brothers, sisters, were most anxious to occupy, but 
from which they were unrelentingly excluded by the most despotic cruelty. 
The dilapidated hut in which they were assembled stood alone, amid the 
blackened crags, eighteen hundred feet above the level of the surrounding 
sea. It was dark night, and the ocean breeze wailed dismally around their 
lonely abode. The flickering blaze of the fire upon the hearth alone lighted 
the room. The Emperor, pale, emaciate, but calm and placid, was pillowed 
upon his bed. In softened tones of voice he conversed with those who loved 
him so well. His words, which they drank in eagerly, reflected his lofty 
character. The conversation chanced to turn upon purity of the lips and of 
life. 

"Immorality," remarked the Emperor, "is, beyond a doubt, the worst of 
all faults in a sovereign, because he introduces it as a fashion among his sub- 
jects, by whom it is practiced for the sake of pleasing him. It strengthens 
every vice, blights every virtue, and infects all society like a pestilence. In 
short, it is a nation's scourge. Public morality, on the contrary, is the nat- 
ural complement of the laws. It is a whole code in itself. The Revolution, 
in spite of all its horrors, has nevertheless been the true cause of tlie regen- 
eration of morals in France. I do not hesitate to afhrm that my government 
will mark the memorable epoch of the return of morality. We advanced at 
fuU sail, but, doubtless, the catastrophes which have ensued will, in a great 
measure, turn all back ; for, amid so many vicissitudes and disorders, it is 



1816, October.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 435 

difficult to resist the various temptations that arise, the allurements of intrigue 
and cupidity, and the suggestions of venality. 

" However, the rising impulse of improvement may be impeded and re- 
pressed, but not destroyed. Public morality belongs especially to the domin- 
ion of reason and information, of which it is the natural result, and reason 
and information can not again be retrograde. The scandalous turpitude of 
former ages, the adultery and libertinism of the Regency, and the profligacy 
of the reign which succeeded it, can not again be revived, unless the circum- 
stances under which they existed should again return, and that is impossible. 
Before such a change can take place, the upper classes of society must again 
degenerate to a state of absolute idleness, so as to have no other occupation 
than licentiousness ; the spirit of industry, which now animates and elevates 
the minds of people in the middle ranks, must be destroyed ; and, finally, the 
lower classes must replunge into that state of subjection and degradation 
which once reduced them to the level of mere beasts of burden. Now all 
this is henceforth impossible. Public morals are, therefore, on the rise. It 
may safely be predicted that they will gradually improve all over the world." 

After half an hour of such conversation, they all retired, and the Emperor, 
by his own wish, was left alone, sick, sleepless, and in pain. 

October 28. " When I arose in the morning," says Las Casas, " I felt ill, 
and wished to bathe my feet, but no water bould be procured for that pur- 
pose. I mention this circumstance to afford an idea, if possible, of our real 
situation at Longwood. Water has always been very scarce here ; but there 
is now less than ever, and we consider ourselves singularly fortunate when 
we are able to procure a bath for the Emperor. We are no better provided 
with other things necessary in medical treatment. Yesterday the doctor was 
mentioning, in the Emperor's presence, drugs, instruments, and remedies of 
various kinds ; but, as he enumerated each article, he added, ' Unfortunately, 
there is none to be procured on the island.' 'Then,' said the Emperor, 
* when they sent us here, they took it for granted that we should always be 
well.' Indeed, we are in want of the veriest trifles and necessaries. As a 
substitute for a Avarming-pan, the Emperor has been obliged to have holes 
bored in one of the large silver dishes used for keeping the meat warm at table, 
which is now filled with coals, and used for the purpose of warming his bed. 
For some time past he has felt very much in want of spirits of wine, by 
means of which he might have been enabled to warm his drink." 

The Emperor's face was much swollen, and the pain had abated. Calm 
and patient, he sat before the fire through the day, reading, and occasionally 
conversing with his friends. 

October 29. The Emperor still continued quite ill, and was unwilling to 
take any medicine, notwithstanding the urgent entreaties of Dr. O'Meara. 
He sent for Las Casas about five o'clock in the afternoon. The Emperor 
was reading, and bathing his feet in hot water, as Las Casas entered. Ob- 
serving some confectionery upon the bureau. Napoleon requested Las Casas 
to hand it to him. Seeing that Las Casas hesitated and felt embarrassed as 
to how he should present them, he said. 



436 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXIX. 

" Take tliem in your hand. There is no need of ceremony or form be- 
tween us now ; we must henceforth be messmates." 

"I have ah-eady mentioned," says Las Casas, "that in his moments of 
good-humored famiHarity, the Emperor was accustomed to salute me with all 
sorts of titles, such as, ' Good-morning, monseigneur ! How is your excel- 
lency?' &c. One evening, when I was about entering the drawing-room, the 
usher opened the door for me, and, at the same moment, the door of the Em- 
peror's apartment also opened, and he came out. We both met together. 
In a fit of abstraction, he stopped me, and, taking me by the ear, said, play- 
fully, ' Well, where is your majesty going ?' But the words had no sooner 
been uttered than he immediately let go my ear, and, assuming a grave ex- 
pression of countenance, began to talk on some serious topic. The Emperor 
was evidently sorry for having suffered the expression your majesty to escape 
him. He seemed to think that, though other titles might be used in jest, yet 
the case was very different witli the one he had just employed, both on ac- 
count of its own peculiar nature, and the circumstances in which we were 
placed. Be this as it may, the reader may form what conjecture he pleases. 
I merely relate the fact." 

October 30. The Emperor was no better to-day, and his periodical attack 
of fever returned at the usual hour. Las Casas alluded in conversation to 
the unpopularity of which the Emperor had lately been tlie object, and ex- 
pressed surprise that he had not attempted to countermine the libels that 
were published against him, and to recover popular favor. 

"I had higher objects in view," replied the Emperor, "than to concern 
myself about flattering and courting a petty multitude, a few insignificant 
coteries and sects. I should have returned victorious from Moscow, and 
then not only these people, but all France, and all the \Vorld, would have ad- 
mired and blessed me. I might then have withdrawn myself mysteriously 
from the world, and popular credulity would have revived the fable of Romu- 
lus. It would have been said that I had been carried up to heaven to take 
my place among the gods." 

Dr. O'Meara again saw Sir Hudson Lowe, informed him of the sufferiiig 
condition of his patient, and of his desire to be removed from the bleak ex- 
posure of Longwood to the more sheltered residence at the Briers. 

" If General Bonaparte," said the governor, " Avishes to make himself com- 
fortable, and to get reconciled to the island, he ought to draw for some of 
those vast sums of money which he possesses, and lay it out in purchasing 
a house and grounds." 

At seven o'clock, the Emperor, finding himself very weak, retired to his 
bed. He drew the bed-curtains to shut out the light, and again gathered 
all his suite around him. After a little desultory conversation, he took a 
fancy to have Robinson Crusoe read to him. Each of the gentlemen read 
by tui-ns for an hour or two. He then took leave of all except General 
Gourgaud, who remained a little time longer conversing with the Emperor. 

.October 31. Fair weather had now returned. The day was delightful. 
The Emperor had kept his chamber for six days, and, tired of the monotony 



1816, October.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. . 437 

of the scene, he determined to disobey the doctor's orders, and went out. He 
was extremely feeble, and, finding himself quite unable to walk, ordered the 
calash. He was silent and low-spirited, and suffered much pain from sore- 
ness of the mouth. After his return he sent for Las Casas. He felt very 
weak and drowsy. Las Casas prevailed on him to eat a little, and he also 
took a glass of wine, which, he said, somewhat revived him. He then en- 
tered into conversation. 

"xis soon as I set foot in Italy," said he, "I wrought a change in the 
manners, sentiments, and language of our Revolution. 1 did not shoot the' 
emigrants. I protected the priests, and abolished those institutions and fes- 
tivals which were calculated to disgrace us. In so doing, I was not guided 
by caprice, but by reason and equity, those two bases of superior policy. For 
example, if the anniversary of the king's death had always been celebrated, 
you emigrants would never have had an opportunity for rallying. 

" I was the first person who applied to France the title of the Great Na- 
tion, and certainly she justified the distinction in the eyes of the prostrate 
world ; and she will yet deserve and retain that proud title, if her national 
character should again rise to a level with her physical advantages and her 
moral resources." 

Again, speaking of one of his companions, to whom he was much attached, 
he said, " His character resembles that of the cow — gentle and placid in all 
things except where his children are concerned. If any one meddle with 
them, his horns are immediately thrust forward, and he may be roused to a 
pitch of fury." 

Speaking of another individual, who had passed his thirtieth year, and 
who, he happened to say, was too young, he observed, "And yet, at that age, 
I had made all my conquests, and I ruled the world. I had laid the revo- 
lutionary storm, amalgamated hostile parties, rallied a nation, established a 
government and an empire — in short, I wanted only the title of Emperor. It 
must be confessed, I have been the spoiled child of Fortune. From my first 
entrance into life I was accustomed to exercise command ; and circumstances, 
and the force of my own character, were such that, as soon as I became pos- 
sessed of power, I acknowledged no master and obeyed no laws except those 
of x(\j own creating." 



438 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXX. 



CHAPTER XXX. 
1816, November. 

Rupture of the Treaty of Amiens — Treatment of Prisoners — Exchanjre of Prisoners — Plan of em- 
plovinij Prisoners of War — Magnificent Views in reference to Antwerp — Reason for refusing 
the Terms otVered at Chatillon— Contiilence of the Emperor respecting the Verdict of Posterity 
— DisinthraUment of the Jews — Marriages — Freemasons — Illuminati — The Jesuits — The Afl'air 
of Mallet — The Emperor's Family — The Historical Atlas — Anecdotes. 

Wovember 1. The day was fine, and about two o'clock the Emperor walk- 
ed out into the garden. Finding himself very much iatigucd, hq called at 
Madam Bertrand's to rest. His languor and exhaustion were so extreme 
that he sat there for an hour, in an arm-chair, without littering a word. He 
then returned to his chamber, threw himself upon his sofa, and fell asleep. 

At six o'clock he sent for Las Casas. He was still very feeble, but ex- 
perienced some benefit from the bath. He conversed upon the situation of 
the French prisoners in England. 

"■The sudden rupture of the treaty of Amiens," said the Emperor, ''on 
such false pretenses, and with so much bad faith on the part of the English 
ministry, greatly irritated me. I conceived that I had been trifled with. 
The seizure of several French merchant ships, even before Avar had been de- 
clared, roused my indignation to the utmost. 

^ To my urgent remonstrance, they coolly replied that it was a practice 
they had always observed, and here they spoke the truth ; but the time was 
gone by when France could tamely submit to such injustice ;md Immiliation. 
I had become the defender of her rights and glory, and I was resolved to let 
our enemies know witli whom they had to deal. Unfortunately, owing to 
the reciprocal situation of the two countries, I could only avenge one act of 
v-iolence by another still greater. It was a painful thing to be compelled to 
make reprisals on innocent men, but I had no alternative. 

" On reading the ironical and insolent reply that was returned to my com- 
plaints, I that very night issued an order for arresting, in every part of 
France, and in every territory occupied by the French, all Englishmen, of 
every rank whatever, and detaining them as prisoners, by way of reprisal for 
the unjust seizure of our ships. Most of these Englishmen were men of rank 
and fortune, who were traveling for pleasure ; but the more extraordinary the 
measure, the greater the injustice, the better it suited my purpose. A gen- 
eral outcry was raised. The English appealed to me ; but [ referred them 
to their own government, on whose conduct their fate alone depended. Sev- 
eral of these individuals proposed raising a subscription to pay for the ships 
that had been seized, in the hope of thereby obtaining permission to return 
home. I, however, informed them that I did not want money, but merely to 
obtain justice and redress for injury. Could it have been believed that the 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD 439 

Enjilisli government, as crafty and tenacious with respect to its maritime 
rights as the court of Itorae is in its rehgious pnitcnsions, suffered a numer- 
ous and distinguislied class of Engh'shraen to be urjjustly detained for ten 
years, rather than authcnticully rcrjouncc for tlic i'uture an odious system of 
maritime plunder I 

" When I was first raised to the hf;ad of the consular government, I Iiad 
liad a misunderstanding with the JOnglish cabinet on the subject of jjrisoners 
of war; but I now carried my point. The Directory had been weak enough 
to agree to an arrangement extremely injurious to France, and entirely to the 
advantage of England. The J'^riglish maintained tlielr prisoners in J'^rance, 
and we had to maintain ours in England. We had but few English prison- 
ers, and the French prisoners in England were exceedingly numerous. Pro- 
visions were to be had for almost nothing in France, and they were exorbi- 
tantly dear in England. Thus the English liad very trifling expenses to pay, 
while we, on the other hand, had to send enormous sums into a foreign coun- 
try at a time wlien we could but ill afford it. This arrangement, moreover, 
required an exchange of agents between the respective countries. The En- 
glish commissioner proved to be neither more nor less than a spy on the 
French government. He was tlic agent and contriver of all the intrigues tliat 
were carried on in France by the emigrants abroad. 

" No sooner was 1 made acquainted with this state of things, than I erased 
t}i(; abuse by a stroke of the pen. The English government was informed 
that, thenceforward, each country must maintain the prisoners it should make, 
unless an exchange were agreed upon. A terrible outcry was raised, and a 
threat was held out tljat the l^'rench prisoners should be suffered to die of 
starvation. I doubted not that the English ministers were sufficiently ob- 
stinate and inhuman to wish to put this threat into execution, but I knew 
that any cruelty exercised toward the prisoners would be repugnant to the 
feelings of the nation. The English government yielded the point. The 
situation of our unfortunate prisoners was indeed neither better nor worse 
than it previously had been, but in. other respects we gained great advant- 
ages, and got rid of an arrangement which had placed us under a sort of 
tribute. 

" During tlie whole v/'ar I incessantly made proposals for an exchange of 
prisoners. The English government, under some pretense or other, con- 
stantly refused to accede, on the supposition tliat it woidd be advantageous 
to me. I have nothipg to say against this. In war, policy must take pre- 
cedence of feeling. But why exercise unnecessary cruelty ? And this is what 
the English ministers unquestionably did, when they found the number of 
prisoners increasing. Then commenced for our unfortunate countrymen the 
odious system of confinement in the hulks — a species of torture which the 
ancients would liave added to the horrors of the infernal regions, had their 
imaginations been capable of conceiving it. I readily adnut there might be 
exaggeration on the part of the accusers. But was the truth spoken by those 
who defended themselves ? We know what kind of a thing a report to Par- 
liament is. We can form, a correct idea of it when v^e read the calumnies 



440 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXX. 

and falsehoods that are uttered in Parliament, with such cool effrontery, by 
the base men who have blushed not to become our executioners. Contine- 
meut on board hidks is a thing that needs no explanation, 'i'lie tact speaks 
for itself. When it is considered that men unaccustomed to live on ship- 
board were crowded together in little unwholesome cabins, too small to afford 
them room to move — that, by Avay of indulgence, they were permitted, twice 
during the twenty-four hours, to breathe pestilential exhalations at ebb-tide, 
and that this misery Avas prolonged for tlie space of ten or twelve years, the 
blood curdles at such an odious picture of inhumanity. 

" On this point I blame myself for not having made reprisals. It would 
have been well had I thrown into similar coniinement, not the poor sailors 
and soldiers, whose complaints woiild never have been attended to, but all 
the English nobility and persons of fortune who were then in France. I 
should have permitted them to maintain a free correspondence with their 
friends and families, and their complaints would soon have assailed the ears 
of the English ministers, and checked their odious measures. Certain par- 
ties in Paris, who were ever the best allies of the enemy, would, of course, 
have called me a tiger and a cannibal. But no matter. I should have dis- 
charged my duty to the French people, Avho had made me their protector and 
defender. In this instance my decision of character tailed me. Were the 
French prisoners eontined in the Imlks at the time you were in England ?" 

"I can not positively say," replied Las Casas, "'but I am inclined to 
think not. I recollect that it was proposed to convey the French prisoners 
to some small islands between England and Ireland, and to leave them to 
themselves, in a state of complete seclusion, with a few light vessels cruising 
about to guard them. To this plan it was objected that, in case of a descent 
of the enemy, his grand object Avovild be to land on these islands, distribute 
arms among the prisoners, and thus recruit an army immediately. Perhaps 
this idea might have led to the use of the hidks, for the prisoners were rap- 
idly increasing in numbers, a)id it was not thought safe to keep them on 
shore among the people, as the latter showed a strong disposition to fraternize 
with the French." 

" WeU," said Napoleon, " I can very readily conceive that there might be 
good grounds for rejecting the plan you have just mentioned. Safety and 
self-preservation before all things. But the coniinement in the hulks is a 
stain on the I^nglish character for humanity, an irritating sting that will nev- 
er be removed from the hearts of the French prisoner;^. On the subject of 
prisoners of war, the English ministers invariably acted with their habitual 
bad faith, and with the machiavelism that distinguishes the school of the pres- 
ent day. Being absolutely determined to aA^oid an exchange, which they did 
not Avish to incur the blame of having refused, they inA'ented and multiplied 
pretenses beyond calculation. 

"In the first place," continued the Emperor, "that I shoidd presume to 
regard as prisoners persons merely detained, Avas affirmed to be an atrocious 
violation of the laAVS of civilized nations, and a principle Avhich the English 
government Avould never avoAv, on any consideration Avhatever. It happened 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 44] 

that some of the individuals detained, who were at large on parole, escaped, 
and were received triumphantly in England. On the other hand, some French- 
men effected their escape to France. I expressed my disapprobation of their 
conduct, and proposed that the individuals of either country who had broken 
their parole should be mutually sent back again. But I receive'd for answer 
that persons detained were not to be accounted prisoners ; that they- had 
merely availed themselves of the lawful privilege of escaping oppression ; that 
they had done right, and had been received accordingly. After tliis I thought 
myself justified in inducing the French to escape ; and the English ministers 
filled their journals with the most insolent abuse, declaring me to be a man 
who scrupled not to violate moral principle, faith, and law. 

"When at length they determined to treat for an exchange of prisoners, 
or, perhaps I ought rather to say, to trifle with me on this point, they sent a 
commissioner to France. All the great difficulties were waived, and, with a 
fine parade of sentiment, conditions were proposed for the sake of humanity. 
They consented to include persons detained in the list of prisoners, and to 
admit under that head tlie Hanoverian troops, who were my prisoners, but 
who were at large on parole. This latter point had been a standing obstacle, 
because, it was insinuated, the Hanoverians were not English. 

" Thus far matters had proceeded smoothly, and there was every proba- 
bility of their being brought to a conclusion ; but I knew with whom I had 
to deal, and I guessed the intentions that were really entertained. There 
were infinitely more French prisoners in England than English prisoners in 
France ; and I was well aware that, the English being once safely landed at 
home, some pretense would be found for breaking ofi" the exchange, and the 
rest of my poor Frenchmen might have remained on board the hulks for life. 
I declared that I would accede to no partial exchange ; that I would be sat- 
isfied only mth a full and complete one ; and, to facilitate matters, I made 
the following proposal : I admitted that there were fewer English prisoners 
in France than French prisoners in England, but I observed that there were 
among my prisoners Spaniards, Portuguese, and other allies of the English^ 
who had been taken under their banners, and fighting in the same cause. 
With this addition I could, on my part, produce a far more considerable num- 
ber of prisoners than there were in England. I therefore offered to surren- 
der up all in return for all. This proposition at first occasioned some em- 
barrassment. It was discussed and rejected ; but, as soon as they had de- 
vised a scheme by which they thought they could secure the object they had 
in view, they acceded to my proposition. 

" But I kept a watchful eye on them. I knew that if we began by merely 
exchanging Frenchmen for Englishmen, as soon as the latter should be se- 
cured, pretenses would be found for breaking off the business, eCnd the old 
evasions would be resumed ; for the English prisoners in France did not 
amount to one third of the French in England. To obviate any misunder- 
standing on either side, I tlierefore proposed that we should exchange by 
transports of only three thousand at a time ; that three thousand Frenchmen 
should be returned to me, and that I would send back one thousand English, 



442 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXX. 

and two thousand Hanoverians, Spaniards, Portuguese, and others. Thus, 
if any misunderstanding arose and put a stop to the exchange, we shoidd 
still stand in the same relative proportion as before, without having practiced 
any deception upon each other ; but if, on the contrary, the affair should pro- 
ceed unintefruptedly to a conclusion, I promised to surrender up gratuitous- 
ly all the prisoners that might ultimately remain in my hands. 

" My conjectures respecting the real designs of the English government 
proved to be correct. These conditions, which were really so reasonable, and 
the princi})le which had already been adopted, were rejected, and the whole 
business broken off. Whether the English ministers really sympathized in 
the situation of their countrymen, or whether they were convinced of my firm 
determination not to be duped, I know not, but it would appear that they 
were at length inclined to come to a conclusion when I subsequently intro- 
duced the subject by an indirect channel. However, our disasters in Russia 
at once revived their hopes and defeated my intentions. 

" The treatment of prisoners of war in France was as generous and lib- 
eral as it possibly could be, and I think no nation could justly convey a re- 
proach to us on that subject. We have in our favor the testimony and the 
sentiments of the prisoners themselves ; for, with the exception of those who 
were ardently attached to their local laws, or, in other words, to notions of 
liberty, and these were exclusively the English and Spaniards, all the rest, 
namely, the Austrians, Prussians, and Russians, were willing to remain with 
us. They left us with regret, and returned to us with pleasure. This dis- 
position on the part of the English and Spaniards has oftener than once in- 
fluenced the obstinacy of their efforts or their resistance. 

" It was my intention to have introduced into Europe a change with re- 
spect to the treatment of prisoners. I intended to enroll them in regiments, 
and to make them labor, under military discipline, at public works and mon- 
uments. They should have received whatever money they earned, and would 
thus have been secured against the nusery of absolute idleness, and the dis- 
orders arising from it. They would have been well fed and clothed, and 
would have wanted for nothing, without being a burden on the state. All 
parties would have been benefited by this plan. But my idea did not meet 
the approval of the Council of State, which in this instance was swayed by 
the mistaken philanthropy that leads to so many errors in the world. It 
was said that it would be unjust and cruel to compel men to labor. It was 
feared lest our enemies should make reprisals. It was affirmed that a pris- 
oner was sufficiently unfortunate in the loss of his liberty, without being 
placed under restraint as to the employment of his time. 

" But here was the abuse of which I complained, and which I wished to 
correct. 'A prisoner,' said I, 'must and should expect to be placed under 
lawful constraint, and that which I would impose upon him is for his own 
advantage as well as that of others. I do not require that he should be sub- 
ject to greater misery or fatigue, but to less danger than he is exposed to in 
his present situation. You ^re afraid lest the enemy should make reprisals, 
and treat French prisoners in tYie same manner. Heaven grant it should be 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 443 

so ! I wisli for nothing "better. I should then behold my sailors and sol- 
diers occupied in wholesome labor, in the fields or public roads, instead of 
seeing them biiried alive on board those odious hulks. They would return 
home healthy, industrious, and inured to labor, and in every country they 
would leave behind them some compensation for the fatal ravages of war.' 
By way of concession, the Council of State agreed to the organization of a 
few corps of prisoners as voluntary laborers, or something of the sort, but 
this was by no means the fulfillment of the scheme I had in view." 

November 2. The Emperor did not leave his chamber. He was very un- 
well, restless, and feverish, with occasional chills. He sat most of the day 
in his arm-chair before the fire. Las Casas was with him. Sometimes he 
conversed, and at others endeavored to sleep. 

" I have done much for Antwerp," said he, " but it was little in compari- 
son with what I proposed to do. I intended to have rendered it a fatal point 
of attack to the enemy by sea, and to have made it a certain resource by land, 
and a point of national security in case of great disasters. I would have ren- 
dered Antwerp capable of receiving a whole army in its defeat, and holding 
out against a close siege for the space of a year, during which time a nation 
would be enabled to rally in a mass for its deliverance, and to resume the of- 
fensive. Five or six places of this kind were to constitute the new system 
of defense which I intended to have established. Antwerp was as yet mere- 
ly a commercial town. The military town was to have been constructed on 
the opposite bank of the river. For this purpose, ground had been purchased 
at a low rate, and it was to have been sold again at a high profit for the pur- 
pose of building, so that by this speculation the expenses attending the en- 
terprise would have been considerably diminished. The winter docks would 
have been capable of admitting three-deck ships with all their guns on board, 
and covered dry docks were to have been constructed for laying up vessels 
in time of peace. 

" The scheme I had formed would have rendered Antwerp a stupendous 
and colossean bulwark. It would have been a whole province in itself. 
This scheme was one of the causes of my exile to St. Helena. The demand 
for the cession of Antwerp was one of the circumstances which led me to re- 
ject the conditions of peace proposed at Chatillon. At that period I had 
doubtless many resources and chances, but still, how much may be said in 
favor of the resolution I adopted ! I did right in refusing to sign the ulti- 
matum, and I fully explained my reasons for that refusal. Therefore, even 
here, on this rock, amid all my misery, I have nothing to repent of. I am 
aware that few will understand me ; but, in spite of the fatal turn of events, 
even the common mass of mankind must now be convinced that duty and 
honor left me -no other alternative. 

" If the Allies had thus far succeeded in degrading me, would they have 
stopped there ? Were their offers of reconciliation and peace sincere ? I 
knew them too well to put faith in their professions. Would they not have 
availed themselves of the immense advantages afforded them by the treaty 
to finish by intrigue Avhat they had commenced by force of arms ? Then 



444 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXX. 

where would have Leen the safety, independence, and future welfare of 
France ? AVhere would have been my honor, my vows ? Would not the 
Allies have ruined me in the estimation of the people as effectually as they 
ruined me on the field of battle ? They would have found public opinion too 
ready to receive the impression which it would have been their aim to give 
to it. How would France have reproached me for suffering foreigners to 
parcel out the territory that had been intrusted to my care ! How many 
faults would have been attributed to me by the unjust and the unfortunate I 
Could the French people, full of the recollections of their glory, have patient- 
ly endured the burdens that would have inevitably been imposed on them ? 
Hence Avould have arisen fresh commotions, anarchy, and desolation. I pre- 
ferred riskino- the last chances of battle, determining; to abdicate in case of 
necessity." 

" I acknowledge the justness of your observations, sire," replied Las Casas. 
"You have lost the throne, it is true, but voluntarily, and becauseyou pre- 
ferred to renounce it rather than compromise our welfare and your own hon- 
or. History will appreciate this sublime sacrifice. Power and life are trans- 
itory, but glory endures and is immortal." 

" But, after all," said the Emperor, " the historian will perhaps find it 
difficult to do me justice, since the world is so overwhelmed with libels and 
falselioods ; my actions have been so darkened and misunderstood." 

"Doubt can only exist during life, sire," replied Las Casas. "Injustice 
will be confined solely to your contemporaries. As you have abeady re- 
marked, the clouds will disperse in proportion as your memory advances in 
posterity ; and though the first catastrophe might liave proved fatal to your 
memory, owing to the outcry that was then raised against you, yet the prod- 
igies of your return, the acts of your brief government, and your exile to St. 
Helena, now leave you crowned with glory in the eyes of nations and of fu- 
turity." 

"That is vevy true," replied the Emperor, with an air of satisfaction; "and 
my fate may be said to be the very opposite of others. A fall usually has 
the effect of lowering a man's character ; but my fall, on the contrary, has 
elevated me prodigiously. Every succeeding day divests me of some por- 
tion of my tyrant's skin." 

During the day the Emperor held a long conversation with Dr. O'Meara. 
The doctor inquired of the Emperor his reasons for encouraging the Jews so 
much. 

" I wanted," he replied, " to make them leave off usury, and become like 
other men. Tliere were a great many Jews in the countries I reigned over. 
By removing their disabilities, and by putting them upon an equality witli 
Catholics, Protestants, and others, I hoped to make them become good citi- 
zens, and conduct themselves like the rest of the community. I believe that 
I should have succeeded in the end. My reasoning with them was, that as 
their rabbis explained to them that they ought njot to practice usury against 
their own tribes, but were allowed to practice it with Christians and others ; 
therefore, as I had restored them to all their privileges, and made them 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 445 

equal to my other subjects, thej must consider me, like Solomon or Herod, 
to be the head of their nation, and my subjects as brethren of a tribe similar 
to theu's ; that, consequently, they were not permitted to deal usuriously 
with them or me, but to treat us as if we were of the tribe of Judah ; that, 
enjoying similar privileges to my other subjects, they were, in like manner, 
to pay taxes, and submit to the laws of conscription, and to other laws. By 
this I gained many soldiers. Besides, I should have drawn great wealth to 
France, as the Jews are very numerous, and would have flocked to a country 
where they enjoyed such superior privileges. 

"Moreover, I wanted to establish a universal liberty of conscience. My 
system was to have no predominant religion, but to allow perfect liberty of 
conscience and of thought — to make all men equal, whether Protestants, Cath- 
olics, Mohammedans, Deists, or others, so that their religion should have no 
influence in getting them employments under government ; in fact, that it 
should neither be the means of serving nor of injuring them, and that no ob- 
jections should be made to a man's getting a situation on the score of relig- 
ion, provided he were fit for it in other respects. 

"I made every thing independent of religion. All the tribunals were so. 
Marriages were independent of the priests ; even the burying-grounds were 
not left at their disposal, as they could not refuse interment to the body of 
any person of whatsoever religion. My intention was to render every thing 
belonging to the state and the Constitution purely civil, without reference to 
any religion. I wished to deprive the priests of all influence and power in 
civil aflkirs, and to oblige them to confine themselves to their own spiritual 
matters, and meddle with nothing else." 

" I asked," says Dr. O'Meara, " if uncles and nieces had not a right to mar- 
ry in France." 

"He replied, 'Yes, but they must obtain a special permission.' 

" I asked if the permission were to be granted by the Pope. 

" 'By the Pope!' said he, catching me by the ear, and smiling; 'no; I 
tell you that neither the Pope nor any of his priests had power to grant any 
thing — ^by the sovereign.' " 

O'Meara asked some questions relative to the freemasons, and his opinions 
concerning them. 

" A set of imbeciles," said the Emperor, " who meet to make merry, a f aire 
honne chere, and perform some ridiculous fooleries. However, they do some 
good actions. They assisted in the Revolution, and latterly to diminish the 
power of the Pope and the influence of the clergy. When the sentiments of 
a people are against the government, every society has a tendency to do mis- 
chief to it." 

O'Meara then asked if the freemasons on the Continent had any connection 
with the Illuminati. 

"ISTo," he replied; "that is a society altogether different, and in Germany 
is of a very dangerous nature." 

O'Meara asked if he had not encouraged the fireemasons. 

"Rather so," he said, "for they fought against the Pope." .. 



446 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXX- 

♦ O'Meara then asked if the Emperor would ever have permitted the re-es- 
tablishment of the Jesuits in France. 

"Never," said he; "it is the most dangerous of societies, and has done 
more mischief than all the others. Their doctrine is, that their general is 
the sovereign of sovereigns, and master of the world ; that all orders from 
him, however contrary to the laws, or however wicked, must be obeyed. 
Every act, however atrocious, committed by them pursuant to orders from 
their general at Eome, becomes, in their eyes, meritorious. No, no ; I would 
never have allowed a society to exist in my dominions under the orders of 
a foreign general at Rome. In fact, I would not allow any friars. There 
were priests sufficient for those who wanted them, without having monas- 
teries filled with a rabble who did nothing but gormandize, pray, and com- 
mit crimes." 

O'Meara observed that it was to be feared the priests and the Jesuits 
would soon have great influence in France. 

" Very hkely," Napoleon replied. " The Bourbons are fanatics, and would 
willingly bring back both the Jesuits and the Inquisition. In reigns before 
mine, the Protestants were as badly treated as the Jews. They could not 
purchase land. I put them upon a level with the Catholics. They will now 
be trampled upon by the Bourbons, to whom they and every thing else lib- 
eral will ahvays be objects of suspicion. The Emperor Alexander may allow 
them to enter his empire, because it is his policy to draw into his barbarous 
country men of information, whatsoever their sect may be, and, moreover, 
they are not to be much feared in Russia, because the religion is different." 

November 3. The Emperor was extremely weak and depressed in spirits. 
Some anecdotes of Paris society were related, which he found quite amusing, 
and he became somewhat animated. 

"The saloons of Paris," said he, "might be truly styled the infernal re- 
gions. They keep up a constant system of slander and calumny. They 
might with justice engage the constant attention of all the tribunals of cor- 
rectional police in the capital." 

He said a great deal respecting the inaptitude of the French to close a rev- 
olution or to adhere to any fixed order of things. 

" The affair of Mallet," said he, jokingly, " might be called a miniature 
or caricature of my own return from the Isle of Elba. Mallet's absurd plot 
might have been truly regarded as a trick. A prisoner of state, an obscure 
individual, effected his own liberation, and, in Iiis turn, imprisoned the pre- 
fect, and even the minister of police, those keepers of dungeons and detectors 
of plots, who suffered themselves to be caught in the snare like so many 
sheep. A prefect • of Paris, the born sponsor of his department, and, more- 
over, a very devoted subject, readily lent himself to every plan for assembling 
a government that had no existence. Ministers appointed by the conspira- 
tors were engaged in making their round of visits, when those who nomi- 
nated them were again safely lodged in prison. Finally, the inhabitants of 
the capital learned, in the morning, the sort of political debauch that had 
taken place during the night, without having been in the least disturbed by it. 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 447 

"Such an extravagant attempt," continued the Emperor, "could never 
have produced anj result. Even had it succeeded, it must have fallen of it- 
self in the space of a few hours, and the victorious conspirators would have 
thought only of escaping from amid their success. I was, therefore, far 
less incensed at the attempt of the criminal than at the facility with which 
those who appeared most attached to me had heen prevailed on to become 
his accomplices. On my arrival, each candidly related to me the details that 
concerned himself, which served to criminate all. They frankly avowed that 
they had been caught, and had for a moment placed full faitli in my over- 
throw. They did not deny that, in the delirium of the moment, they had en- 
tered into the designs of the conspirators, and they rejoiced with me at their 
happy escape. Not one of them mentioned the slightest resistance or the 
least effort made to defend and perpetuate the existing government. This 
seemed never to have entered their heads. So accustomed were they to 
changes and revolutions, that all were perfectly resigned to the establishment 
of a new order of things. All, therefore, changed countenance, and manifest- 
ed the utmost embarrassment when, in a resolute tone of voice, I said, 

" ' Well, gentlemen, it appears you thought my reign at an end. To that 
I have nothing to say. But where were your oaths to the King of Rome ? 
What became of your principles and doctrines ? You make me tremble for 
the future.' 

"I found it necessary," the Emperor continued, "to make an example, 
were it only for the sake of putting weak men on their guard for the future, 
and judgment fell upon poor Frochot, the Prefect of the Police, who, I am sure, 
loved me well. Yet,, at the mere request of one of these mountebank conspir- 
ators, instead of the resistance which his duty required — instead of manifest- 
ing a firm determination to perish at his post rather than yield, he very con- 
tentedly issued orders for preparing a place for the sitting of the new gov- 
ernment I Indeed, the readiness with which the French people accommodate 
themselves to change is calculated to prolong vicissitudes, which no other na^ 
tion but themselves could endure. Thus individuals of every party seem to 
be well convinced that all is not yet settled ; and Europe shares this opin- 
ion, which is founded no less on our natural inconstancy and volatility than 
on the mass of events that have risen up during the last thirty years." 

Nove'mber 4. Speaking of the wonders of his life and the vicissitudes of 
his fortune, the Emperor remarked, " I ought to have died at Moscow, be- 
cause at that time my military glory had experienced no reverse, and my po- 
litical career was unexampled in the history of the world." 

Observing that the countenance of Las Casas was not exactly expressive 
of assent, he said, " This is not your opinion ? You do not think I ought to 
have closed my career at Moscow ?" 

"No, sire," was the reply, "for in that case histoiy would have been de- 
prived of the return from Elba — of the most generous and most heroic act 
that ever man performed — of the grandest and most sublime event that the 
world ever witnessed." 

"Well," replied the Emperor, "there may be some truth in that. But 
what say you to Waterloo ? Ought I not to have perished there ?" 



448 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXX. 

" Sire, if I have obtained pardon for Moscow," said Las Casas, " I do not 
see why I should not ask it for Waterloo. The future is beyond the will 
and the power of man. It is in the h9,nds of God alone." 

The Emperor then spoke of the different members of his family, the little 
assistance he had received from them, and the many embarrassments they 
had occasioned him. He particularly alluded to the mistaken notion they 
had conceived, that, being once placed at the head of a people, they should be- 
come identified with them, so as to prefer their sectional interests to those of 
the common country. 

"This idea," said he, "might have originated in honorable feeling, but it 
was most erroneous and mischievous in its application. In their mistaken 
notions of independence, the members of my family sometimes seemed to con- 
sider their power as detached, forgetting that they were merely parts of a 
great whole, whose views and interests they should have aided instead of 
opposing ; but, after all, they were very young and inexperienced, and were 
suiTounded by snares, flatterers, and intriguers, with secret and evil designs. 
And yet, if we judge from analogy, what family, in similar circumstances,' 
would have acted better ? Every one is not qualified to be a statesman. 
That requires a combination of powers that docs not often fall to the lot of 
one. In this respect, all my brothers were singularly situated ; they pos- 
sessed at once too much and too little talent. They felt themselves too 
strong to resign themselves blindly to a guiding counselor, and yet too weak 
to be left entirely to themselves ; but, take them all in all, I have certainly 
good reason to be proud of my family. 

"Joseph would have been an ornament to society in any country, and 
Lucien would have been an honor to any pohtical assembly. 

"Jerome, as he advanced in life, v»'0uld have developed every qualification 
requisite in a sovereign. 

" Louis would have been distinguished in any rank or condition in life. 

" My sister Eliza was endowed with masculine powers of mind : she must 
have proved herself a philosopher in her adverse fortune. 

" Caroline possessed great talents and capacity. 

" Pauline, perhaps the most beautiful woman of her age, has been, and 
will continue to the end of her life, the most amiable creature in the world. 

"As to my mother, she deserves all kind of veneration. 

"How seldom is so numerous a family entitled to so much praise! Add 
to this that, setting aside the jarring of political opinions, we sincerely loved 
each other. For my part, I never ceased to cherish fraternal affection for 
them all, and I am con\'inced that in their hearts they felt the same senti- 
ments toward me, and that, in case of need, they would have given me proof 
of it." 

In the evening, after the Emperor had retired, all his suite assembled 
around his bed. He Avas cheerful and social, and entertained them with his 
rich and varied conversation for more than an hour. 

, Novemher 5. The Emperor continued confined to his room. About two 
o'clock he sent for Las Casas. The Emperor had the celebrated Historical 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD 



449 




PORTRAIT OF PAULINE, THE SISTER OF NAPOLEON. 



Atlas of Las Casas in his hand, which he was earnestly studying. He re- 
marked on the irregular distribution of land and sea. He paused for a time 
on the continent of Asia, and from the vast Pacific Ocean passed to the 
more contracted limits of the Atlantic. He started many questions relative 
to the variable and the trade winds, the monsoons of the Indian Ocean, the 
calm of the Pacific, and the hurricanes of the Antilles. He appeared much 
pleased with the scientific accuracy of the map, and said to Las Casas, 

" Tables are of the highest use in assisting the mind to draw comparisons. 
They awaken and excite ideas. You have fallen on an excellent plan in 
thus making your tables of history and geography embrace all the remark- 
able circumstances and phenomena connected with these sciences." 

During the course of the day Las Casas had some conversation with an 
English seaman, who had been a prisoner of war in France, and who had 
thus become an enthusiastic admirer of the Emperor. . Pie related several 
anecdotes of events which had occurred under his observation, and which 
strikingly ilhistrated the character of Napoleon. 

" We were treated," said the English seaman, " in the best possible man- 
ner. At Verdun, the depot of the EngHsh prisoners of war, we enjoyed the 

Ef 



450 NAIH^UKON AT ST UKl.KNA [Tuvr. XWl. 

same wivlloiivs as tlio inhabitants. \ orvliin is a vrrv ploasant town, and wo 
found piwisions nud witto oxorodingly choap. Wo woiv alKnvod to walk 
soveral miles Wvotid tho town without asking jHwnnssion. In short, wo woiv 
so woll jMVtootod ag-Jiinst all sorts of voxations, that tho oxMUMal nndor whoso 
iHMniuaud wo woiv j>laood, having Invn guilty ot"son»o invgularitios in his 
tnvitniont of us, was oi\loivd to I'avis l>y tho sjnvial v\nnn»and ol" Napoloon, 
aud. tiviu toar ot" tho jniuishmont wluoh awaited him, ho oojnn\ittod suioido. 

'• It ouoo hapjHMiod that uo ivooivod onlors to oontino omsolvos to our 
lodiiiuii-s, and wo woiv int'onuod that wo should not l>o allowed to quit them 
tcu" sovoiul days. The ivasou assigned for this moasuiv was that tho lun- 
|Hn\vv intended to jviss through Vorvlun, and that it was not thought sate to 
idlow him to W surrounded by so many o{ t!io enemy's prisoners. Besides 
the disapjxuntment of our curiosity, for wo \ery muel» desiivd to see NajHv 
Uhmu this onler w ounded our ftvlitigs exeeodingly. Is it jK^ssiblo, we thought, 
that thoY distru.<t brave KngUsh seauuMv -that they e^nitbuml \is with assas- 
sins? !>ut OJi tho day of Na^x^loon's arrival, we were, to our surprise, in- 
fvM*mod that wo woiv again at lilHM'ty, atid that the l\unHM\>r very mueh dis- 
appnnod oi' the oiilor that had beoti given tor our oontinemoitt. We eagi>rly 
thi\>ugvd to see the Kmjvror, and he passed by us, unatieiidod by any es- 
cort, w ith an air of {vrfeet seeurity, and even w ith an e\pivssion of kindness 
which quite ilelii;hted us. (.>ur aeelatnations woiv no less sineoiv than tluv^o 
of the Fivnoh tljoniselvos." 

Amotig tho prisoners iti Fnnuv thoiv was an l-lnglish g\Muleman by the 
name of Manning, who had Kvn tnueling tor the sake of soientitie invostig":i- 
tion. He thought that he might jx>s5iiUly obtain his liWrty by addivssing a 
jx»tition to Napoleon prayiijg for jH^nnission to visit tho interior of Atriea. 
His tViends laughed at his simplioity. Hut he turned the laugh against them, 
when, at the exj>in»tiou of a few weeks, lie informed then» of the suoivss of 
his application. This Sixme ^Ir. Manning, as will lieivafter be seen, at\or a 
jH^n^grination of sevoml yoai-s, touehod at St. Helena on his ivturu to Ku- 
ro}>e. He there found his IxMu^faetor, tho Kmperor of Fi'jinco, in sickness, 
jx'>vorty. and imjn'isonmont. 



CHAT 11. K WXl. 

1SU\ Novendvr. Oontinned. 

Reroarks on R\issu^« — Contrast Unwcon l^tt and Fox — MonojH^Uos — Wants of tl»o Fwnoh Navy — 
KeuKMrks on the Imivml (.lovommtnu — "IV^uMos in l.a Veudot> — Koniarks on 'IVai^xly — Aiux^ 
dotes — Keuiarks on Keli^jion ; on Instinct — BUu-Kor — TUo TwatnuMU ot" SoMiers — Tho Ncajn^li- 
tans — Ou IVavH' with KnirlanU — Sir Sydney Sntitit — Tho l\»>i;t>noration of" Sjkuji — Sir Hutison 
Lowt" — PupUcity of the English (.iovernment. 

uS^HYmbei' In Tho Knqxnvr was much Ix^tter, and ivooivod soventl visitoi*s 
about the middle of the day. In the cvoniuix^ in conversatiott with his trieuiis, 
he resumed his gvogniphieal observations. 

*' He dwelt," says Las Casas, " partienlarly on Asia: on tlie situation of 



IHH), Nov('i.ib<;r. ) RKSIDKNCIO AT IX)N(>W<>()1). 4/51 

l>,ii,sHi;i, ;i,ii'j llic f;i(;ili(,y vvilli wliicl) ijic l;iU,(;r [jovvt rinirUi tnakd an attempt 
on IiifJiii, or <;v(!n on (Jliina, :uu\ ih<; aiurrn which hIi<; tiui/Ui ilicrc.iorc, junily 
cxciff! in Uk; l*in(i;liHh. Il<; (•.:i\(;n\nU;([ ilw, nurnhcr of f.ioopn whi';)) KjjHHJa 
Hii(il)(, f,(n)>loy, tJicif j>rohu(jl'; )j'jinf.;-( of <ii;\):t.flnr<;, ili<; roMl.<-- lJi<-,y woul'J \)(; 
h'l'.'ly fo purHUc, arifj I.Iki w';;ill,h Ui<;y woul'J o(>tain in Kuch an (;nl,cr{)riHC. 
( >n ;ill fli';;-",*; iSnhjf;c,l,H Ix; rnadc fJi<; rno^t curiouH and valnafjhj rcfimrkH, 1 
V<',ry /nufJi i"'-,jjtc.I, my Inahilif y (,o nt'-.onJ fix-jn li';)-';, for fny t]<>U;H, in Uiin iri- 
Hlancc, aflord (rx-, only Hligjjl, liinlH, hakI I can not l.nj;-,t to Uic a(;<;ura';y of my 
memory in filling uj) lliu (Iclailn." 

" ItuHKia," Haid tlx; lOmjxtror, " lia;-} a va;-;(, KUf^fjriorif-y over llx; re;sf, of lOu- 
ro|)C in nigard to ihc im/nenKf, })Ow<;rH rslif, can call up for llic, purj^oK*; of Jn- 
vij.sion, tor/(;t,licr will) fJxt pl)yHic,al advanf.agc,^ of Ix^r nituafion, lindcr the 
pole, ;iiid h-Lckcd hy cf'trnaJ hnlwark:^, of ice,, wlii';h, in cane, of n';<;d, will rcn- 
<Jcr her InarjccH.-iiiile. itiiKHia carj only he, attacked duriji;/; on^; third or one 
fourth of tlx; ye,ar, while, nhe can, throuf.djoiit tlxj whole, twelve, montliH, main- 
tain attackf-i upon uh. Ile,r aKHailant;^ miiHt encounter the ri^iora and priva- 
tioriH of a frif.nd c.limatr', and a han'en Koil, while, he,r troops, jjourinj^ down 
u[jon liH, wouhl e,nJoy the, fertility and charma of our HOUtlx;rn rci^Kju. To 
thew; phynical. circiinjHtance,H may he, added the advantage of an immen«e pop- 
ulation, hraVc, hardy, de,votr!d, and paHKive,, irjcluding thoHe numeroun unciv- 
ilized hordcH to whom privation and wand(;ring are. the natural Htate of ex- 
iHtetx;e. 

" Who can avoid Khudde,rine- at the thought of 8uch a vaat rnawH, unaKHail- 
aljle, either ou the flanka or in the rear, de,;-icending upon wh with impunity — 
if triumpharit, ovf^rwhelming avary thing in its courHe; or, if defcat<^5d, retir- 
ing amid the cold and d(5Holation, tliat may );e called itn forcea of ro/iiOyrve, and 
poHHCHKing eve,ry facility of iKKijiing forth again, at a future opjjorturiity ! la 
not th'iH the head of tlie hydr;(, ihe, AntamjB of the faLl/j, whidi can only he 
Huljrlued }>y «ei;cing it bodily, and Htifling it in the ernhrace ? Hut where ia 
tlx; JIere,uleB to be found? J'ranee alone could think of Kuch an acliieve- 
rneiit, and it muBt he confeHHed we mad<5 but an awkward attempt of it. 

"Should there arise an JOniperor of JiuKHia, valiant, impetuouH, and intel- 
ligent — in a word, a (Jzar with a beard on hia chin" | thia lie pronounced very 
e,rnjjhatically ], " 10 u rope ia hia own. lie may commence hia operatir/na on 
tlxj Herman territory, at one hundred Jeaguea from the two capitala, lierlin 
aixl Vienna, whoae aoverelgna are hia only obataclea. 1 le aecurea the alliance, 
of the one by force, and, witli hia aid, au}>du«a the other by a aingle atroke. 
He, then firxla himaelf in the lieart of Germany, amid the princea of the aef> 
ond rank, most of whom arc either hia relationa or dependents. In the mean 
while,, he may, ahould he think it nfjceaaary, throw a iaw firebranda acroaa 
the Alps on the soil of Italy, ripe for explosion, and he may then march tri- 
umphantly to Paris to j^roclaim himself the new liberator, i know, if I were 
in such a situation, I would undertake to reach (Jalais in a fiven time and 
by re,gular marching stations, there to become the master and arbiter of i]u- 
rope." 

Then, after a i'cw momenta' ailencc, he added, " Perhaps, my dear Laa Ca- 



452 NAPOLEOxX AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXI. 

sas, yon may be tempted to say, as tlie minister of PjTrliiis said to his mas- 
ter, 'And after all, to ivhat purjjosef My answer is, to establish a new 
state of society, and to avert great misfortunes. This is a blessino- which 
Europe expects and solicits. The old system is ended, and the new one is 
not coH'^olidated, and will not be so until after long and furious convulsions." 

The Emperor was again 
silent. Attcr measuring 
with a pair of compasses 
the distances on the map, 
he said, 

" Constantinople is, from 
its situation, calculated to 
be the centre and seat of 
imivcrsal dominion." 

The names of Pitt and 
Fox were afterward men- 
tioned. " Pitt," said the 
Emperor, "was the master 
of Em-opean policy. He 
held in his han"d tlie mor- 
al fate of nations, but he 
made an ill use of his pow- 
er. He kindled the fire 
of discord throughout the 
universe ; and his name, 
like that of Erostratus, 
will be inscribed in history 
amid flames, lamentations, 
and tears. The iirst sparks of our Revolution, then the resistance that Avas 
opposed to the national will, and, linally, the horrid crimes that ensued, all 
were his work. Twenty-five years of universal conflagration ; the numerous 
coalitions that added fuel to the flame ; the revolution and devastation of 
Europe ; the bloodshed of nations ; the frio-htfid debt of Encjland, bv which 
all these horrors were maintained ; the pestilential system of loans, by which 
the people of Europe are oppressed ; the general discontent that now pre- 
vails — all must be attributed to Pitt. Posterity will brand him as a scourge ; 
and the man so lauded in his .own time will hereafter be regarded as the 
genius of evil. Xot that I consider him to have been willfully atrocious, or 
doubt his having entertained the con-viction that he was acting right. But 
St. Bartliolomew had also its conscientious advocates. The Pope and car- 
dinals celebrated it by a Te Deum ; and we have no reason to doubt their 
having done so in sincerity. Such is the weakness of human reason and 
judgment ! 

"But that for which posterity will, above all, execrate the memory of Pitt, 
is the hateful school that he has left behind him ; its insolent machiavelisra, 
its profound immorality, its cold egotism, and its utter disregard of justice 




THE EMPEROR CONTE.MPLATISG CONSTANTINOPLE. 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 453 

and human happiness. Whether it be the effect of admiration and gratitude, 
or the result of mere instinct and sympathy, Pitt is, and will continue to be, 
the idol of the European aristocracy. There was, indeed, a touch of the 
Sylla in his character. His system has kept the popular cause in check, 
and brought about the triumph of the patricians. 

"As to Fox, one must not look for his model among the ancients. He is 
him.self a model, and his principles will sooner or later rule the world. Cer- 
tainly the death of Fox was one of the fatalities of my career. Had his life 
been prolonged, affairs would have taken a totally different turn. The cause 
of the people would have triumphed, and we should have established a new 
order of things in Europe." 

Conversing with respect to the East India Company, " A company," said 
the Emperor, "places great advantages in the hands of a few' individuals, 
who may attend very well to their oVn interests, while they neglect those of 
the mass. Thus every company soon degenerates into an oligarchy. It is 
always the friend of power, to which it is ready to lend every assistance. In 
this point of view, companies were exclusively suited to old times and old 
systems. Unrestricted commerce, on the contrary, is favorable to the inter- 
ests of all classes. It excites the imagination and rouses the activity of a 
people. It is identical with equality, and naturally leads to independence. 
In this respect, it is most in unison with our modern system. After the 
treaty of Amiens, by which France regained her Indian possessions, I had 
this grand question discussed before me at great length. I heard both states- 
men and commercial men, and my final opinion was in favor of free compe- 
tition and against companies. 

" Formerly only one kind of property was known, that which consisted in 
landed possessions. Afterward a second kind rose up, that of industry or 
manufactures, which is now in opposition to the first. Then arose a third, 
that which is derived from burdens levied on the people, and which, distrib- 
uted by the neutral and impartial hands of government, might obviate the 
evils of monopoly on the part of the two others, intervene between them, and 
prevent them from coming into conflict. 

" It is because men will not acknowledge this great revolution in property, 
because they persist in closing their eyes to these truths, that so many acts 
of folly are now committed, and that nations are exposed to so many disor- 
ders. The world has sustained a great shock, and it now seeks to return to 
a settled state. The whole cause of the universal agitation that at present 
prevails may be explained in a few words : the ship's cargo has been shifted, 
her ballast has been removed from the stem to the stern ; hence are produced 
those violent oscillations which may occasion a wreck in the first storm, if 
obstinate efforts are made to work the vessel according to the usual method, 
and without obtaining a new balance." 

Las Casas spoke of the wisdom and genius of M. de SufFren, who perform- 
ed prodigies in India by overleaping all rules in naval tactics and trusting to 
his own genius. 

"Oh!" exclaimed the Emperor, "why did not Suffren live till my time, 



454 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [CllAr. XXXI. 

or why did I not liglit on a man of his stamp ! I would have made ]iim our 
Nelson. I was constantly seeking for a man qualified to raise the character 
of the Frencli navy, but I could never find one. There is in the navy a pe- 
culiarity, a technicality that impeded my conceptions. If I proposed a new 
idea, immediately Gantheaurae, and the Avhole marine department, were up 
against me. ' Sire, that can not be.' 'Why not?' 'Sire, the winds do not 
admit of it.' ■ Then objections were started respecting calms and currents, 
and I was obliged to stop short. How is it possible to maintain a discussion 
with those whose language we do not comprehend ? 

" How often, in the Council of State, have I reproached naval officers with 
taking an undue advantage of tliis circumstance ! To hear them talk, one 
might have been led to suppose that it was necessary to be born in the navy 
to know any thing about it. Yet I have often told them that, had it been 
in my power to have performed a voyage to India with them, I should, on 
my return, have been as familiar with their profession as Avith the field of 
battle ; but they could not credit this. They always repeated that no man 
could be a good sailor u.nless he was brought up to it from his cradle ; and 
they at length prevailed on me to adopt a plan about Avhich I long hesitated, 
namely, the enrollment of several thousand children from six to eight years 
of age. 

" My resistance was vain. I was compelled to yield to the unanimous 
voice, while I assured those who urged me to this measure that I left all the 
responsibility witli tliem. What was the result ? It excited clamor and 
discontent on the part of the public, who turned the whole affair into ridicule, 
styling it the massacre of the innocents. Subsequently, De Winter, Verhuel, 
all the great naval commanders of the North, and others, assured me that 
from eighteen to twenty (the age for the conscription) was early enough to 
begin to learn the duties of a sailor. The Danes and Swedes employ their 
soldiers in the navy. With the Russians the fleet is but a portion of the 
army, which affords the invaluable advantage of keeping up a standing army, 
and for a twofold object. 

"I had myself," added he, "planned something of the kind when I cre- 
ated my crews for men of war. But what obstacles had I to encounter, what 
prejudices to subdue, what perseverance was I obliged to exert, before I could 
succeed in clothing tlie sailors in uniform, forming them into regiments, and 
drilling them by military exercise ! I was told that I should ruin all ; and 
yet, can there be a greater advantage than for one country to possess both an 
army and a navy ? The men, thus disciplined, were not worse sailors than 
the rest, while, at the same time, they were the best soldiers. They were, 
in case of need, prepared to serve as sailors, soldiers, pontooners, or artillery- 
men. If, instead of being thus opposed by obstacles, I had found in the navy 
a man capable of entering into my views and promoting my ideas, what im- 
portance might we not have obtained ! But, during my reign, I never found 
a naval officer who could depart from the old routine, and strike out a new 
course. I was much attached to the navy. I admired the courage and pa- 
triotism of our seamen, but I never found, between them and mc, an inter- 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONG WOOD. 455 

mediate agent who could have brought them into operation in the way I 
wished. " 

November 7. Speaking of his imperial system, " It has been the means," 
said Napoleon, " of creating the most compact government, establishing the 
most rapid circulation in all its parts, and calling forth the most nervous ef- 
forts that have ever been witness.ed ; and nothing short of this would have 
enabled us to triumph over such numerous difficulties, and to achieve so many 
wonders. The organization of the prefectures, their operations, and the re- 
sults they produced, were admirable. One and the same impulse was simul- 
taneously communicated to more than forty millions of men, and by the help 
of those centres of local activity, the movement was no less rapid and ener- 
getic at the extremities than in the heart itself Foreigners who visited 
France, and who were capable of observing and discerning, were filled with 
astonishment. To this uniformity of action over an immense extent of ter- 
ritory must be attributed those prodigious efforts and immense results which 
were acknowledged to have been hitlierto inconceivable. 

" The prefects, with their local authority and resources, were themselves em- 
perors on a small scale. As their whole power proceeded from the main spring, 
of which they were the communicating channels ; as their influence was not 
personal, but was derived from their temporary functions ; as they had no con- 
nection with the district over which their jurisdiction extended, they presented 
all the advantages of the great absolute agents of the old system, without any 
of their disadvantages. It was necessary to create this power, for the force 
of circumstances had placed me in the situation of a dictator. It was requi- 
site that all the filaments issuing from me should be in harmony with the 
first cause, or my system would have failed in its result. The net-work 
which I spread over the French territory required a violent tension and pro- 
digious power of elasticity in order to make the terrible blows that were con- 
stantly leveled at us rebound to distant points. Thus most of the springs 
of my machinery were merely institutions connected with dictatorship and 
measures for warlike defense. 

" When the moment should have arrived for slackening the reins, all my 
connecting filaments would have relaxed sympathetically, and we should then 
have proceeded to our peace establishments and local institutions. If we yet 
possessed none of these, it was because circumstances did not admit of them. 
Our immediate fall would have been the infallible consequence had we been 
provided with them at the outset. It must not be supposed that the nation 
was all at once prepared to make a proper use of her liberty. Both with re- 
spect to education and character, the bulk of the people were imbued with 
too many of the prejudices of past times. We were daily improving, but 
we had much yet to acquire. At the time of the revolutionary explosion, the 
patriots, generally speaking, were such by nature and by instinct. With 
them patriotism was an innate sentiment, a passion, a phrensy. Hence the 
effervescence, the extravagance, the fury that marked the period. But it is 
vain to attempt to naturalize and mature the modern system by blows or 
jumps. It must be implanted vrith education, and must take root with rea- 



456 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXI. 

son and conviction. This will infallibly take place in course of time, because 
modern principles are founded on natural truths. 

" But the men of our time were eager for the possession of power, which 
they exercised with a domineering spirit, to say no Avorse ; while, on the oth- 
er hand, they were ready to become the slaves of those who were above them. 
We have always wavered between these two extremes. In the course of 
my journeys, I was often obliged to say to the high officers Avho were 
about my person, 'Pray let the prefect speak for himself.' If I went to 
some subdivision of a department, I then found it necessary to say to the 
prefect, 'Let the sub-prefect or the mayor make his reply.' So eager were 
all to eclipse each other, and so little did they perceive the advantage that 
might arise from dii-ect communication with me. If I sent my great officers 
or ministers to preside at the electoral colleges, I always advised them not to 
get nominated as candidates for the Senate, as their seats were secured to 
them by other means, and I wished that they should resign the honor of the 
nomination to the principal individuals of the provinces ; but they never con- 
formed to my wishes. 

" I granted enormous salaries to prefects and others ; but, with regard to 
my liberality on this head, it is necessary to distinguish between what was 
systematic and what was incidental. The latter forced me to grant lucrative 
appointments ; the former Avould ultimately have enabled me to obtain gra- 
tuitous services. At the first outset, when the object was to conciliate indi- 
viduals, and to re-establish some kind of society and morality, liberal sala- 
ries, absolute fortunes were indispensable. But the result being obtained, 
and, in course of time, the natural order of things restored, my intention 
would have been to render almost all high public duties gratuitous. I would 
have discarded those needy individuals, who can not be their own masters, 
and whose urgent wants engender political immorality. I would have wrought 
such a change in opinion that pviblic posts should have been sought after for 
tlie mere honor of filling them. The functions of magistrate or justice of 
the peace would have been discharged by men of fortune, who, being guided 
solely by duty, philanthropy, and honorable ambition, would have afforded the 
surest pledge of independence. It is this that constitutes the dignity and 
majesty of a nation, that exalts her character, and establishes public morals. 
Such a change had become indispensable in France, and the dislike of getting 
into place might have been considered the forerunner of our return to politi- 
cal morality. 

" I have been informed that the mania of place-hunting has crossed the sea, 
and that the contao-ion has been communicated to our neifrhbors. The Kn- 

O O 

glish of former days were as much superior to tliis kind of meanness as 
>the people of the United States now are. The love of place is the greatest 
injuiy to' public morals. 7V man who solicits a public post feels his inde- 
pendence sold beforehand. In England, the greatest families, the whole peer- 
age, disdain not to hunt after places. Their excuse is, that the enormous 
burdens of taxation deprive them of the means of living without additions to 
their income. Pitiful pretense ! It is because their jirinciples are more de- 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 457 

cayed than their fortunes. When people of a certain rank stoop to solicit 
public posts for the sake of emolument, there is an end to all independence 
and dignity of national character. 

" In France, the shocks and commotions of our revolutions might have af- 
forded an apology for such conduct. All had been unsettled, and all felt the 
necessity of re-establishing themselves. To promote this object with the least 
possible offense to delicacy of feeling, I was induced to attach considerable 
emolument and high honor to all public posts ; but, in course of time, I in- 
tended to work a change by the mere force of opinion. And this was by no 
means impossible. Every thing must yield to the influence of power when 
it is directed to objects truly just, honorable, and great. 

" I was preparing a happy reign for my son. For his sake I was rearing 
in the new school the numerous class of auditors of tlie Council of State. 
Their education being completed, they would, on attaining the proper age, 
have filled all the public posts in the empire, thus confirmed in modern prin- 
ciples, and improved by the example of their predecessors. They would all 
have been twelve or fifteen years older than my son, who would by this means 
have been placed between two generations and all their advantages — maturi- 
ty, experience, and prudence above him, youth, promptitude, and activity be- 
low him." 

" Sire," said Las Casas, "I can not refrain from expressing my astonish- 
ment that you should never have thrown out a hint of the grand and impor- 
tant objects you had in contemplation." 

" What would have been the benefit of promulgating my intentions V re- 
plied the Emperor. " I should have been styled a quack, accused of insin- 
uation and subtilty, and have fallen into discredit. Situated as I was, de- 
prived of hereditary authority, and of the illusion called legitimacy, I was 
compelled to avoid entering the lists with my opponents. I was obliged to 
be bold, imperious, and decisive. You have told me that in your faubourg 
tjiey used to say, ' Why is he not legitimate P If I had been so, I certainly 
could not have done more than I did, but my conduct might have appeared 
more amiable." 

November 8. The Emperor dictated to one of his suite, the exertion of 
which seemed to have roused his spirits so much that he was in a very so- 
cial mood. The troubles of La Vendee, and the men who were distinguished 
in them, formed the principal topics of discourse. Charette was the only in- 
dividual to whom the Emperor attached particular importance. Pacing the 
floor of his narrow chamber, he said, 

"I have read a history of La Vendee, and, if the details and portraits were 
correct, Charette was the only great character, the true hero of that remark- 
able episode of our Revolution, which, if it presented great misfortunes, at 
least did not sacrifice our glory. In the wars of La Vendee, Frenchmen de- 
stroyed each other, but they did not degrade themselves. They received aid 
from foreigners, but they did not stoop to the disgrace of marching under 
their banners, and receiving daily pay for merely executing their commands. 
Yes, Charette impressed me with the idea of a great character." 



/ 



458 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXI. 

" Charette,'' said Las Casas, "very much astonished those who had been 
acquainted with him by his brilhant exploits. It is true that, when he be- 
gan to rise into celebrity, we recollected a circumstance which certainly indi- 
cated decision of character. When he was first called into service, during 
the American war, and while yet a mere youth, he sailed out of Brest on 
board a cutter during the Aviiiter. The cutter lost her mast, and, to a vessel 
of that description, such an accident was equivalent to certain destruction. 
The weather was very stormy. Death seemed inevitable ; and the sailoi'S, 
throwing themselves on their knees, lost all presence of mind, and refused to 
make any effort to save themselves. Charette, notwithstanding his extreme 
youth, killed one of the men in order to compel the rest to make the neces- 
sary exertions. This dreadful example had the desired effect, and the vessel 
was saved." '^ 

''" "You see," said the Emperor, "tiaie decision of character always devel-/ 
/ ops itself under critical circumstances. Here was the spark that distinguish- 
ed the hero of La Vendee. Men's dispositions are often misunderstood. 
There are sleepers whose waking is terrible. Kleber was an habitual slum- \ 
berer, but, at the needful moment, he never failed to awake like a lion." / 

" The vessel of Charette," said Las Casas, " at one time, during a long, 
dark night in December, was entangled among ridges, and, being deprived 
of her mast and all nautical aid, she sailed on at hazard, and the crew had 
resigned themselves to the will of fate, when they unexpectedly heard the 
ringing of a bell. They sounded, and, finding but little depth of water, they 
cast anchor. What was their surprise and joy, at daybreak, on finding them- 
selves at the mouth of the River Landerneau ! The bell they had heard was 
that of the neighboring parish church. The vessel had been carried through 
the narrow inlet of the port, miraculously escaping tlie numerous sandbanks 
about the entrance of Brest, and had found a calm station at the mouth of 
the river." 

" This," said the Emperor, " shows the difference between the blindfold 
efforts of man and the certain course of nature. That at which you express 
so miicli surprise must necessarily have happened. It is very probable that, 
with the full power of exerting the utmost skill, the confusion and errors of 
the moment would have occasioned the wreck of the vessel ; Avhereas, in 
spite of so many adverse chances, nature saved her. She was borne onward 
by the tide, the force of the current carried her precisely through the middle 
of each channel, so that she could not possibly have been lost. 

"I was withdrawn from the army of the Alps," continued the Emperor, 
" for the purpose of being transferred to La Vendee, but I preferred resign- 
ing my commission to entering a service where I conceived I should only be 
concurring in mischief without the probability of obtaining any personal ben- 
efit. One of the first acts of my Consulate was to quell the troubles in La 
V^endee. I did much for that unfortunate department, the inhabitants of 
vdiich were very grateful to me ; and when I passed through it, even the 
priests appeared sincerely favorable to me. Thus the late insurrections did 
not present the same character as the first. Their prominent feature was 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 459 

not blind fanaticism, but merelj passive obedience to a ruling aristocracj. 
Laraarque, whom I sent there at the height of the crisis, performed wonders, 
and even surpassed my hopes." 

"The Emperor," says Las Casas, "dined with us to-day for the first 
time since his illness, that is to say, for the space of sixteen days. Our din- 
ner was therefore a sort of fete. But Ave could not help remarking, with re- 
gret, the change in the Emperor's countenance, which presented obvious 
traces of the ill effects of his Ions: confinement. After dinner we resumed 
our readings, which we had so long suspended. The Emperor read the Ag- 
amemnon. We were particularly struck with the graduation of terror which 
characterizes the productions of this father of tragedy. Agamemnon being 
ended, the Emperor asked for the CEdipus of Sophocles, which also interested 
us exceedingly ; and the Emperor expressed his regret at not having had it 
performed at St. Cloud. Talma has always opposed the idea, but the Em- 
peror was sorry that he had relinquished it." 

" Not," said he, "that I wished to correct our drama by antique models. 
Heaven forbid! But I merely wished to have opportunity of judging how 
far ancient composition would have harmonized with modern notions. Vol- 
taire's QEdipus contains the finest scene in the French drama. As to its 
faults, they must not be attributed to the poet, but to the manners of the 
age and the great actresses of the day, to whose laws a dramatic writer is 
forced to submit. I am surprised that the Romans should have no trage- 
dies ; but then tragedy in dramatic representation would have been ill cal- 
culated to rouse the feelings of the Romans, since they performed real trage- 
dy in their circuses. The comba,ts of the gladiators — the sight of men con- 
signed to the fury of wild beasts — were far more terrible than all our dramat- 
ic horrors put together. These, in fact, were the only tragedies suited to 
the iron nerves of the Romans." 

Under this date Dr. O'Meara makes the following record : 

"Napoleon asked me many anatomical and physiological questions, and 
observed that he had studied anatomy himself for a few days, but had been 
sickened by the sight of some bodies that were opened, and abandoned any 
further progress in that science. After some development of his ideas touch- 
ing the soul, I made a few remarks upon the Poles who had served in his 
army, who, I observed, were greatly attached to his person. 

"'Ah!' replied the Emperor, 'they were much attached to me. The 
present viceroy of Poland was with me in my campaigns in Egypt. I made 
him a general. Most of my old Polish guard are now, through policy, em- 
ployed by Alexander. They are a brave nation, and make good soldiers. 
In the cold which prevails in the northern countries, the Pole is better than 
the Frenchman.' 

" I asked him if, in less rigorous climates, the Poles were as good soldiers 
as the French. 

" ' Oh Ho, no,' he replied ; ' in other places the Frenchman is superior. 
The commandant at Dantzic informed me that, during the severity of the 
winter, when the thermometer sunk eighteen degrees, it was impossible to 



460 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXI. 

make the French soldiers keep their posts as sentinels, wliile the Poles suf- 
fered nothing. Poniatowskj,' continued he, ' was a noble character, full of 
honor and bravery. It was my intention to have made him King of Poland, 
had I succeeded in Russia.' 

" I asked to what he principally attributed his failure in that expedition. 

" 'To the cold, the premature cold, and the burning of Moscow,' replied 
Napoleon. ' I was a few days too late. I had made a calculation of the 
weather for fifty years before, and the extreme cold had never commenced 
until about the 20th of December — twenty days later than it began this time. 
While I was at Moscow, the cold was at three of the thermometer, and was 
such as the French could with pleasure bear ; but on the march, the ther- 
mometer sunk eighteen degrees, and consequently nearly all the horses per- 
ished. In one night I lost thirty thousand. The artillery, of which I had 
five hundred pieces, was in a great measure obliged to be abandoned. Nei- 
ther annnunition nor provisions could be carried. .We could not, tlirough 
the Avant of horses, make a reconnaissance., or send out an advance of men on 
horseback to discover the way. 

" ' The soldiers lost their spirits and their senses, and fell into confusion. 
The most trifling circumstance alarmed them. Four or five men were suffi- 
cient to teiTify a whole battalion. Instead of keeping together, they wan- 
dered about in search of fire. Parties, when sent out on duty in advance, 
abandoned their posts, and went to seek the means of warming themselves in 
the houses. They separated in all directions, became helpless, and fell an 
easy prey to the enemy. Others lay down, fell asleep, a little blood came 
from their nostrils, and, sleeping, they died. In this manner thousands per- 
ished. The Poles saved some of their artillery, but the French, and the sol- 
diers of the other nations, were no longer the same men. In particular, the 
cavalry suffered. Out of forty thousand, I do not think that three thousand 
were saved. 

" ' Had it not been for that fire at Moscow, I should have succeeded. I 
would have wintered there. There were in that city about forty thousand 
citizens who were in a manner slaves, for you must know that tlie Hussian 
nobility keep their vassals in a sort of slavery. I would have proclaimed 
liberty to all the slaves in Russia, and abolished vassalage and nobility. 
This would have procured me the union of an immense and a powerful party. 
I would either have made peace at Moscow, or else I would have marched 
the next year to Petersburg. Alexander was assured of it, and sent his 
diamonds, valuables, and ships to England. Had it not been for that fire, I 
should have succeeded in every thing. Two days before, I beat them in a 
great action at ]\Ioskwa ; I attacked the Russian army of two hundred and 
fifty thousand strong, intrenched up to their necks, with ninety thousand, and 
totally defeated them. Seventy thousand Russians lay upon the field. 

" ' They had the impudence to say that they had gained the battle, al- 
though I marched into ]\Ioscow two days after. I was in the midst of a fine 
city, provisioned for a year ; for in Russia they always lay in provisions for 
several months before the frost sets in. Stores of all kinds were in plenty. 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 461 

The houses of the inhabitants were well provided, and many had even left 
their servants to attend upon us. In most of them there was a note left bj 
the proprietor, begging of the French officers who took possession to be care- 
ful of their furniture and other effects ; that thej had left every article nec- 
essary for our wants, and hoped to return in a few days, when the Emperor 
Alexander had accommodated matters, at which time they would be happy to 
see us. Many ladies remained behind. They knew that I had been in Berlin 
and Vienna Avith my armies, and that no injury had been done to the inhab- 
itants ; . and, moreover, they expected a speedy peace. We were in hopes of 
enjoying ourselves in winter-quarters, with every prospect of success in the 
spring. 

" ' Two days after our arrival, a fire was discovered, which at first was not 
supposed to be alarming, but to have been caused by the soldiers kindling 
their fires too near to the houses, which were chiefly of wood. I was angry 
at this, and issued very strict orders on the subject to the commandants of 
regiments and others. The next day it had increased, but still not so as to 
give serious alarm. However, afraid that it might gain upon us, I went out 
on horseback, and gave every direction to extinguish it. The next morning a 
violent wind arose, and the fire spread with the greatest rapidity. Some hund- 
red miscreants, hired for that purpose, dispersed themselves in difterent parts 
of the town, and with matches, which they concealed under their cloaks, set 
fire to as inany houses to windward as they could, which was easily done, in 
consequence of the combustible materials of which they were built. This, 
together with the violence of the wind, rendered every effort to extinguish 
the fire ineftectual. I myself narrowly escaped with life. 

" ' In order to show an example, I ventured into the midst of the flames, 
and had my hair and eyebrows singed, and my clothes burned off my back ; 
but it was in vain, as they had destroyed most of the pumps, of which there 
were above a thousand ; out of all these, I believe that we could only find 
one that was serviceable. Besides, the wretches that had been hired by 
Rostopchin ran about in every quarter, disseminating fire with their match- 
es, in which they were but too much assisted by the wind. 

" 'This terrible conflagration ruined every thing. I was prepared for all 
but this. It was unforeseen, for who would have thought that a nation 
would have set its capital on fire? The inhabitants themselves, however, 
did all they could to extinguish it, and several of them perished in their en- 
deavors. They also brought before us numbers of the incendiaries with 
their matches, as amid such a populace we never could have discovered them 
ourselves. I caused about two hundred of these wretches to be shot. 

" ' Had it not been for this fatal fire, I possessed every thing my army want- 
ed : excellent winter-quarters ; stores of all kinds were in plenty ; and the 
next year would have decided it. Alexander would have made peace, or I 
would have been in Petersburg.' 

" I asked if he thought that he could entirely subdue Russia. 

" ' No,' replied Napoleon ; ' but I would have caused Russia to make such 
a peace as suited the interests of France. I was five days too late in quit- 



4G2 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[CiiAP. XXXI. 



ting Moscow. Several of the generals were burned out of their beds. I 
myself remained in the Krendiu until surrounded by tlanies. The tire ad- 
vaneed, seized the Chinese and India warehouses, and several stores of oil 
and spirits, which burst forth in Ihunes and overwholnuHl every thing. I 
then retired to a country-house of the bhnperor Alexander, distant about a 
league from Moscow, and you may hgure to yourself the intensity of the tire 
Avhen I tell you tiiat you could scarcely bear your liands upon the walls or 
(he windows on the side next to ]\Ioscow, in consequence of their licated state. 
It was the spectacle of a sea and billows of tire, a sky and clouds of Hame ; 
mountains of red rolling flames, like immense waves of the sea, alternately 
bursting forth and elevating themselves to skies of lire, and then .sinking into 
the ocean of tlame below. Oh, it was the most grand, the most sublime, 
and the most terrific sight the world ever beheld! Allons, docteur.^ "* 

jVovcjuber 9. To-day the l^^mperor felt himself infinitely better. He was 
surroundeil by all his suite, and bc^gau to talk of the prodigies of his early 
career. "■They must," said he, '•'have produced a great impression in the 
world." 

"■ So great an impression," said Ijas Casas, " tliat some were induced to 
regard them as supernatural. At the time of the explosion of the infernal 
machine, a person who had just heard the news called at a house in a cer- 
tain quarter of the capital, and hastily entering the drawing-room, in which 
a party was assembled, he informed the company that Napoleon was no more ; 
and after giving an account of the event that had just taken place, he con- 
cliuled by saying, 'lie is fairly blown up.' 

"■ 'lie blown up!' exclaimed an old Austrian ofUcer, who had eagerly lis- 
tened to all that was said, and who liad been witness to many of the dangers 




THE INFFRNAI. MACHINE 

* This was Napoleon's general expression when he wished the doctor to retire. 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 463 

wliicli the young general of the army of Italy liad so miraculously escaped ; 
' he blown up ! Ah ! you know a great deal about it. I venture to say that 
he is, at this very moment, as well as any of us. I know him and all his 
tricks of old.'" 

The name of Madam Regnault having been mentioned, some one remark- 
ed that slie had evinced much attachment for the Emperor during his stay 
at the Isle of Elba. 

"■ How ! She ?" exclaimed the Emperor, with mingled surprise and.satis- 
faction. 

"Yes, sire." 

" Poor lady !" said he, in a tone of deep regret ; " and yet how ill I treat- 
ed her ! Well, this at least repays me for the ingratitude of those syco- 
phants on whom I lavished so many favors." Tlien, after a few moments' 
silence, he said, " It is very certain that one can never know people's char- 
acters and sentiments until after great trials." 

At dinner the Emperor was very good-humored and cheerful. He con- 
gratulated himself on having got through his late illness without paying trib- 
ute to the doctor. 

"At this," said he, "the doctor has been very much vexed. He would 
have been content with ever so little. He only asked for compliance Avith 
form, like a priest in confession." The Emperor laughed, and added, "Out 
of complaisance, I made trial of a gargle, but its strong acidity disagreed with 
me. Mild medicines are best suited to my constitution. Gentle remedies, 
whether physical or moral, are the only ones that take effect on me." 

In conversation with Dr. O'Meara, the subject of religion was introduced. 

" There are so many different religions," said the Emperor, " or modifica- 
tions of them, that it is difficult to know which to choose. If one rehs-ion 
had existed from the beginning of the world, I Would think that the true one. 
As it is, I am of opinion that every person ought to continue in the religion 
in which he was brought up — in that of his fathers. What are you ?" 

"A Protestant," O'Meara replied. 

" Was your father so ?" 

"Yes, sire." 

" Then continue in that belief. In France I received Catholics and Prot- 
estants alike at my levee. I paid their ministers alike. I gave the Protest- 
ants a fine church at Paris, which had formerly belonged to the Jesuits. In 
order to prevent any religious quarrels in places where there were both Cath- 
olic and Protestant churches, I prohibited them from tolling the bells to sum- 
mon the people to worsliip in their respective churches unless the ministers 
of the one and the other made a specific request for permission to do so, and 
stating that it was at the desire and request of the members of each religion. 
Permission was then given .for a year, and if, at the expiration of that year, 
the demand was not renewed by both parties again, it was not continued. 
By these means I prevented the squabbles which had previously existed, as 
the Catholic priests found that they could not have their own bells tolled un- 
less the Protestants had a similar privilege. 



464 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXI. 

"There is a link between animals and the Deity. Man," added he, "is 
merely a more perfect animal than the rest. He reasons better. But how- 
do we know that animals have not a language of their own ? My opinion is 
that it is presumption in us to say no, because we do not understand them. 
A horse has memory, knowledge, and love. He knows his master from the 
servants, though the latter are more constantly with him. I had a horse 
myself who knew me from any other person, and manifested, by capering and 
proudly marching, with his head erect, when I was on his back, his knowl- 
edge that he bore a person superior to the others by whom he was surround- 
ed. Neither would he allow any other person to mount him except one 
groom, who constantly took care of him, and, when ridden by him,- his mo- 
tions were far different, and such as seemed to say that he was conscious he 
bore an inferior. When I lost my way, I Avas accustomed to throw the reins 
down his neck, and he always discovered it in places where I, with all my 
observation and boasted superior knowledge, could not. Who can deny the 
sagacity of dogs ? There is a link between all animals. Plants are so many 
animals who eat and drink, and there are gradations up to man, who is only 
the most perfect of them all. The same spirit animates them all in a great- 
er or a lesser decree." 

o 

O'Mcara asked some questions about Blucher. 

" Blucher," said he, " is a very brave soldier. He is like a bull who shuts 
his eyes, and, seeing no danger, rushes on. He committed a thousand faults, 
and, had it not been for circumstances, I could repeatedly have made him and 
the greatest part of his army prisoners. He is stubborn and indefatigable, 
afraid of nothing, and ycyj much attached to his country ; but, as a general, 
he is without talent. I recollect that, when I was in Prussia, he dined at 
my table after he had surrendered, and he was then considered to be an or- 
dinary character."' 

Speaking about the English soldiers, he observed, " The English soldier 
is brave, nobody more so, and the officers generally men of honor, but I do 
not think them yet capable of executing grand maneuvers. I think that if I 
were at the head of them, I could make them do any thing. However, I 
know them not enough yet to speak decidedly. I had a conversation with 
Bingham about it ; and, although he is of a different opinion, I would alter 
your • system. Instead of the lash, I would lead them by the stimulus of 
honor. I would instill a degree of emulation into their minds. I would pro- 
mote every deserving soldier, as I did in France. After an action, I assem- 
bled the officers and soldiers, and asked, ' Who have acquitted themselves 
best ? Quels so?it les braves P and promoted sucli of tliem as were capable 
of reading and writing. Those who were not, I ordered to study five hours 
a day until they had learned a sufficiency, and then promoted tliem. 

" What might not be expected from the English army, if every soldier 
hoped to be made a general if he behaved well ? Bingham says, hoAvever, 
that the greatest part of your soldiers are brutes, and must be driven by the 
stick ; but surely the English soldiers must be possessed of sentiments suf- 
ficient to put them at least upon a level with the soldiers of other nations, 
where the degrading system of the lash is not used. 



RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



465 



1816, November.] 

" Whatever debases man can not be serviceable. Bingham says that none 
but the dregs of the people voluntarily enter as soldiers. This disgraceful 
punishment is the cause of it. I would remove it, and make even the situ- 
ation of a private soldier be considered as conferring honor upon the individ- 
ual who bore it. I would act as I did in France. I would encourage young- 
men of education, the sons of merchants, gentlemen, and others, to enter as 
private soldiers, and promote them according to their merits. I would sub- 
stitute confinement, bread and water, the contempt of his comrades, and such 
other punishments, for the lash. When a soldier has been debased and dis- 
honored by stripes, he cares but little for the glory or the honor of his country. 

" What honor can a man possibly have who is flogged before his com- 
rades ? He loses all feeling, and would as soon fight against as for his coun- 
try, if he were better paid by the opposite party. When the Austrians had 
possession of Italy, they in vain attempted to make soldiers of the Italians. 
They either deserted as fast as they raised them, or else, when compelled to 
advance against an enemy, they ran away on the first fire. It was impos- 
sible to keep together a single regiment. When I got Italy, and began to 
raise soldiers, the Austrians laughed at me, and said that it was in vain ; that 
they had been trying for a long time, and that it was not in the nature of the 
Italians to fight or to make good soldiers. Notwithstanding this, I raised 
many thousands of Italians, who fought with a bravery equal to the French, 




HiJKfJEY. 



NAPOLEON AT MONTEREAU. 

Gg 



466 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP..XXXI. 

and did not desert me even in my adversity. What was the cause? I abol- 
ished flogging and the stick, Avliich the Austrians liad adopted. I promoted 
those among the soldiers who had talents, and made many of them generals. 
I substituted honor and emulation for terror and the lash." 

The soldiers considered the Emperor as theu- comrade. He mingled with 
tliem freely, addressed tliem in terms of friendly familiarity, and bore his full 
proportion of hardship and toil. In one of his last conflicts, at Montereau, he 
tUsmounted from his horse, and with his own hand directed a gun in several 
discharges. 

"The Neapolitans," continued the Emperor, "are the most vile rabble 
in the world. Murat ruined me by advancing against the Austrians with 
them. When old Ferdinand heard of it, he laughed, and said, in his jargon, 
that they would serve Murat as they had done him before, when Championet 
dispersed a hundred thousand of them, like so many sheep, with ten thousand 
Frenchmen. I had forbidden ]Murat to act ; for, after I returned from Elba, 
there was an understanding between the Emperor of Austria and me, that 
if I gave him up Italy, he wovild not join the coalition against me. This I 
had promised, and would have fulfilled it ; but that imbecile, in spite of the 
direction I had given him to remain quiet, advanced with his rabble into 
Italy, where he was blown away like a puff. 

" The Emperor of Austria, seeing this, concluded directly that it was by 
my orders, and that I deceived him, and being conscious that he had be- 
trayed me himself before, supposed that I did not intend to keep faith with 
him, and determined to endeavor to crush me with all his forces. Twice 
Murat betrayed and ruined me. Before, when he forsook me, he joined the 
Allies with sixty thousand men, and obliged me to leave thirty thousand in 
Italy when I wanted them so much elsewhere. At that time his army was 
well officered by French. Had it not been for this rash step of Mui-at's, the 
Russians would have retreated, as their intentions were not to have advanced 
if Austria did not join the coalition ; so that you would have been left to 
yourselves, and have gladly made a peace. 

"I had always been Avilling," continued Napoleon, "to conclude a peace 
with England. Let your ministers say what they like, I was always ready 
to make a peace. At the time that Fox died there was every prospect of 
effecting one. If Lord Lauderdale had been sincere at first, it would also 
have been concluded. Before the campaign in Prussia, I caused it to be sig- 
nified to him that he had better persuade his countrymen to make peace, as 
[ would be master of Prussia in two, months ; for this reason, that although 
Russia and Prussia united might be able to oppose me, yet that Prussia 
alone could not ; that the Russians were three months' march distant ; and 
that, as I had intelligence that their plan of campaign was to defend Berlin, 
instead of retiring, in order to obtain the support of the Russians, I would 
destroy their army and take Berlin before the Russians came up, whom alone 
[ would easily defeat afterward. I therefore advised him to take advantage 
of my offer of peace before Prussia, who was your best friend on the Conti- 
nent, Avas destroyed. After this communication I believe that Lord Lauder- 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 467 

dale was sincere, and that he wrote to your ministers recommending peace ; 
hut they would not agree to it, thinking that the King of Prussia was at the 
head of a hundred thousand raen, that I might he defeated, and that a defeat 
would he my ruin. This was possible. A battle sometimes decides every 
thing, and sometimes the most trifling circumstance decides the fate of a 
battle. The event, however, proved that I was right ; after Jena, Prussia 
was mine. After Tilsit and at Erfurth," continued he, "a letter containing 
proposals of peace to England, and signed by the Emperor and myself, was 
sent to your ministers, but they would not accept of them." 

He spoke of Sir Sydney Smith. " Sydney Smith," said he, "is a brave 
officer. He displayed considerable abihty in the treaty for the evacuation 
of Egypt by the French. He took advantage of the discontent which he 
found to prevail among the French troops at being so long away from France, 
and other circumstances. He also manifested great honor in sending imme- 
diately to Kleber the refusal of Lord Keith to ratify the treaty, which saved 
the French army ; if he had kept it a secret for seven or eight days longer, 
Cairo would have been given up to the Turks, and the French army neces- 
sarily obliged to surrender to the English. He also showed great humanity 
and honor in all his proceedings toward the French who fell into his hands." 

O'Meara asked if Sir Sydney had not displayed great talent and bravery 
at Acre. 

" Yes," Napoleon replied. " The chief cause of the failure there was that 
he took all my battering train, which was on board of several small vessels. 
Had it not been for that, I would have taken Acre in spite of him. He be- 
haved very bravely, and was well seconded by Philippeaux, a Frenchman of 
talent, who had studied with me as an engineer. There was a Major Doug- 
las, also, who behaved very gallantly. The acquisition of five or six hund- 
red seamen as cannoneers was a great advantage to the Turks, whose spirits 
they revived, and whom they showed how to defend the fortress. But he 
committed a great fault in making sorties, which cost the lives of two or three 
hundred brave fellows, without the possibility of success, for it was impossible 
he could succeed against the number of the French who were before Acre. 

" I would lay a wager that he lost half of his crew in them. He dis- 
persed proclamations among my troops, which certainly shook some of them, 
and I, in consequence, published an order stating that he was viad, and for- 
bidding all communication with him. Some days after, he sent, by means 
of a flag of truce, a lieutenant or a midshipman with a letter containing a 
challenge to me to meet him at some place he pointed out, in order to fight 
a duel. I laughed at this, and sent him back an intimation that when he 
brought Marlborough to fight me, I would meet him. Notwithstanding this, 
I like the character of the man. " 

O'Meara remarked that the invasion of Spain had been a measure very 
destructive to the Emperor. 

Napoleon replied, " If the government I established had remained, it would 
have been the best thing that ever happened for Spain. I would have re- 
generated the Spaniards. I would have made them a great nation. Instead 



468 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXI. 

of a feeble, imbecile, and superstitious race of Bourbons, I would have given 
them a new dynasty, that would have no claim on the nation except by the 
good it would have rendered unto it. For an hereditary race of asses, they 
would have had a monarch with ability to revive the nation, sunk under the 
yoke of superstition and ignorance. Perhaps it is better for France that I 
did not succeed, as Spain would have been a formidable rival. I would have 
destroyed superstition and priestcraft, and abolished the Inquisition and the 
monasteries of those lazy beasts of friars. I would, at least, have rendered 
the priests harmless. The guerrillas, who fought so bravely against me, now 
lament their success. When I was last in Pans, I had letters from Mina 
and many other leaders of the guerrillas, craving assistance to expel their J^ri- 
ar from the throne." 

Napoleon afterward made some observations relative to the governor, 
whose suspicious and mysterious conduct he contrasted with the open and 
undisguised manner in which Sir George Cockburn conducted himself. 

"Though the admiral was severe and rough," said he, "yet he was inca- 
pable of a mean action. He had no atrocities in contemplation, and there- 
fore made no mystery or secrecy of his conduct. Never have I suspected him 
of any sinister design. Although I might not like him, yet I could not de- 
spise him. I despise the other. As a jailer, the admiral was kind and hu- 
mane, and we ought to be grateful to him ; as our host, we have reason to 
be dissatisfied, and to complain of him. This jailer deprives life of every in- 
ducement to me. Were it not that it would be an act of cowardice, and that 
it would please your ministers, I would get rid of it. Tengo la vita jye/' la 
gloria. There is more courage in supporting an existence like mine than in 
abandoning it. This governor has a double correspondence with your min- 
isters, similar to that which all your embassadors maintain ; one written so 
as to deceive the world, should they .ever be called upon to publish it, and 
the other giving a true account, for themselves alone." 

O'Meara observed that he believed all embassadors and other official per- 
sons, in aU countries, wrote two accounts, one for the public, and the other 
containing matters which it might not be right to divulge. 

"True, Sir Doctor," replied Napoleon, taking his ear in a good-humored 
manner, " but there is not so Machiavelian a ministry in the world as your 
own. Cela tient a votive systeme. That, and the liberty of your press, 
obliges your ministers to render some account to the nation, and therefore 
they want to be able to deceive the public in many instances. But as it is 
also necessary for them to know the truth themselves, they have a double 
correspondence ; one official and false, calculated to gull the nation when 
published, or called for by the Parliament ; the other private and true, to be 
kept locked up in their own possession, and not deposited in the archives. 
In tliis way they manage to make every thing appear as they wish to John 
Bull. Now this system of falsehood is not necessary in a country where 
there is no obligation to publish or to render an account. If the sovereign 
does not like to make known any transaction officially, he keeps it to himself, 
and gives no explanation ; therefore there is no need of causing varnished 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 469 

accounts to be written in order to deceive the people. For these reasons, 
there are more falsifications in your official documents than in those of any- 
other nation." 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

1816, November. Continued. 

Dumouriez — Leopold — The Tuileries — Monarchies and Republics — Hostility of the English Minis- 
try — Designs of the Emperor — The Reorganization of Italy — Causes of the Emperor's Downfall 
— Bernadotte — Wounds of the Emperor — Devotion of his Soldiers — The Return from Elba — 
Plans after Waterloo — Talleyrand — The Sword of Frederick — The Second Marriage — Anecdote 
— Dismissal of the Servant of Las Casas — Causes of Success — Alexander the Great — Csesar — 
Hannibal — Frederick the Great — The Conscription— -Lawyers — The Clergy. 

Wovember 10. During dinner the Emperor spoke of the campaign of Du- 
mouriez in Champagne, which he had just been reading. He thought little 
of the Duke of Brunswick, who, with a plan of offensive operations, had ad- 
vanced only eighteen leagues in forty days. But he very much blamed Du- 
mouriez, whose position, he said, was far too hazardous. 

"For me, this is saying a great deal," added he, " for I consider myself 
to have been the most venturous man in war that perhaps ever lived ; yet I 
should certainly have been afraid to keep the position that Dumouriez retain- 
ed, so numerous were the dangers it presented. I could only explain his 
maneuver on the supposition that he could not venture to retire. He would 
probably have encountered greater risks in retreating than in staying where 
he was. Wellington was placed in the same situation at Waterloo, The 
French are the bravest troops in the world. They will light in whatever po- 
sition they may be attacked, but they can not retreat before a victorious en- 
emy. If they experience the least check, they lose all presence of mind and 
discipline ; they slip through your fingers, as it were. Dumouriez, I sup- 
pose, calculated on this, or perhaps he might have been influenced by some 
secret negotiation of which we are ignorant." 

The newspapers which were read mentioned the marriage of Prince Le- 
opold of Saxe-Coburg to Princess Charlotte of Wales. 

" Prince Leopold," said the Emperor, " once had a chance of becoming my 
aid-de-camp. He solicited the appointment, and I do not know what pre- 
vented him fram obtaining it. However, it was lucky for him that his ap- 
pKcation proved unsuccessful. Had it been otherwise, his present marriage 
would never have taken place. Who can pretend to say what is fortunate 
or unfortunate in the events of human life ?" 

Referring again to Prince Leopold's petition to become his aid-de-camp, 
the Emperor remarked, 

" A crowd of German princes solicited the same favor. When I estab- 
lished the Confederation of the Rhine, the sovereigns who were included in 
it took it for granted that I intended to revive in my person the etiquette 
and forms of the Holy Roman Empire ; and all, even kings themselves, were 
eager to join my retinue. One wished to be appointed my cup-bearer, and 



470 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChaP. XXXII. 

another my grand butler. At this period the princes of Germany literally 
invaded the Tuileries ; tliey crowded the saloons, and modestly mingled with 
the officers of my household. It Avas the same Avith Italians, Spaniards, and 
Portuguese. All the most exalted individuals in Europe were assembled at 
the Tuileries. The fact is, that during my reign Paris was in itself a na- 
tion, and the lirst in the world I ' ' 

November 1 1 . The Emperor did not leave his chamber for the day. Las Ca- 
sas spent nearly the whole day witli him in continued conversation. Speak- 
ing of the elements of society, the I^hnperor said, 

"Democracy may be furious, but it has some heart — it can be moved. 
As to aristocracy, it is always cold and unforgiving." 

At another time he said, " All human institutions present two opposite 
points of view — all have their advantages and disadvantages ; for example, 
both republican and monarchical government may be defended and opposed. 
Doubtless it is easy to prove in theory that both are equally good, and very 
good, but this is not quite so easy in application. The extreme boundary 
of the government of the many is anarchy ; of a single one, it is despotism. 
A just medium between both is unquestionably the best, were it in the pow- 
er of wisdom steadily to pursue such a course. These truths have been re- 
peated, until they have become absolutely commonplace, without producing 
any result that is good. On this subject many volumes have been written, 
and many will still be written, without eftect." 

The Emperor at another moment said, " Despotism is not absolute, but 
merely relative. A maii can not with impunity absorb all pOAver in himself. 
If a sultan strike ofl' the heads of his subjects according to the whim of the 
moment, he incurs the risk of losing his -own by the same sort of caprice. 
Excess Avill always incline either to one side or the other. What the sea 
gains by encroachment in one direction, it loses elsewhere. When I Avas in 
Egypt, a conqueror, an absolute ruler and master, dictating laAvs to the peo- 
ple by mere orders of the day, I could not have presumed to search the 
liouses, and it Avould luiA'e been out of my poAver to haA'C prevented the in- 
habitants from speaking freely in their coffee-houses, Avhere liberty and inde- 
pendence prevailed even in a greater degree than in Paris. The people yield- 
ed like slaves in all other places ; but they Avere resolved to enjoy full liber- 
ty in their coffee-houses, Avhich Avere absolutely the citadels of freedom, the 
bazars of public opinion. Here they loudly declaimed and passed judgment 
on the measures of the day. It Avould have been impossible to close their 
mouths. If I happened to enter these places, all boAved before me, it is true, 
but this was a mark of esteem to me personally. No such homage Avas shown 
to my lieutenants. 

" France, AAdien subject to the opposing influences of many, was on the 
point of falling beneath the bloAvs of combined Europe. But sha placed the 
helm in the hands of one, and immediately the First Consul laid doAvn the 
laAv to Europe. Sucli is the poAver of unity and concentration. These are 
facts which must be couAdncing to the meanest understanding. 

" It is curious to observe tliat the old cabinets of Europe AA^erc unable to 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 471 

conceive the importance of this change, and they continued to treat with uni- 
ty and concentration, in the same manner that they had done with the mul- 
titude and dispersion. It is no less remarkable that the Emperor Paul, who 
was looked upon as a fool, was the first to appreciate this difference ; while 
the English ministers, reputed to be so skillful and experienced, were the 
very last. 'I set aside the abstractions of your Revolution,' Paul wrote to 
me, ' I confine myself to a fact : in my eyes you are a government, and 1 
address myself to you, because we can understand each other, and I can treat 
with you.' 

" With regard to the English ministry, I was ever obliged to conquer and 
force peace, and absolutely to detach England from the rest of Europe, be- 
fore I could get them to listen to me ; and even when they opened negotia- 
tions with me, they followed all the traces of the old routine. They tried to 
divert my attention by delays, protocols, forms, ceremonies, precedents, and 
I know not what, but I felt myself so powerful that I could aiford to laugh 
at all this. 

"A new state of things required a new line of conduct, but the English 
ministers seemed to have no idea of the age, or of the men and things belong- 
ing to it. My manner quite disconcerted them. I commenced in diplomacy 
as I had already commenced in arms. ' These are my propositions,' said I 
to the English ministry. ' We are masters of Holland and Switzerland, but 
I am ready to resign both in return for the restitutions that you may make 
to us or our allies. We are also masters of Italy, of which I will surrender 
one portion and retain the other, for the purpose of guaranteeing the exist- 
ence of all. These are my bases : you are free to build round them as 
much as you please. I care not for that ; but the object and result must 
remain as I have specified. I will not yield a hair's breadth of my determi- 
nation. My object is not to purchase concessions from you, but to enter into 
reasonable, honorable, and lasting engagements. This is the circle I have 
traced out. It appears to me that you have formed no notion of our respect- 
ive situations or resources. I fear not your refusal, your efforts, nor any dif- 
ficulties you may throw in my way. I have a strong arm, and I only want 
a weight to lift.' 

" This unusual language produced the desired effect. In the negotiations 
of Amiens they had intended merely to divert us, but they now began to 
treat seriously. Not knowing at what point I was vulnerable, they offered 
to make me King of France. This was a good idea ! King hy the grace 
of foreigners,' when I was already sovereign hy the vnll of the people I 

" Such was the ascendency I had acquired, that, even while the negotia- 
tions were pending, I got myself elected president of the Italian republic : 
and this circumstance, which, in the ordinary course of European diplomacy, 
would naturally have created so many obstacles, occasioned no interruption 
of the proceedings. Matters were brought to a conclusion, and I gained my 
point by plain dealing better than if I had fallen into all the usual diplo- 
matic subtleties. Many libelous pamphlets, and manifestoes of no better 
character, accused me of perfidy and of breach of faith in my negotiations ; 



^f 



472 NAPOLEON AT ST 11 V.LENA. [ T 1 1 A P. \ .\ X 1 1 . 

hut 1 lu'vcv moritoil those ohargx>s, which, on tlic contrai y, iiiii;lit !il\\;i\ s Imvc 
hoou jiistlv !HH>Uo(.l to the other cabinets ol' Kurojie. 

" At Aniieus, I sincerely thon!;ht the t'lite ot" l''rjMU"e, ami lMin)|)c, ;iiul niv 
own ili'stinv were peruianently ti.\ed ; I ho]>etl that wiir was at ai\ imuI. 
However, the Kn«;lish cabinet ai;ain kimUed the Ihune. l'h»i;l!iiul is alone 
ivsnousible tor all the miseries by whiih JMirope has since bctMi assnilcil. 
l"\n* niv own |>art, 1 inteu^lc^l to \\:\\v i1c\o((h1 niysolt" wholly io llu> inUMiial 
interests ot" France, and I au» contiiUMiI 1 sliouKl hav(> wrought n\iraelt^s. I 
shouKl have lost nothiui;- in the scah> ol* gKuy, autl 1 sliouM have achieved 
the moral connnest of Knrope, w iiich I was atUMwanl on the point ot" ai"cou\- 
plishin>;' bv t"orce ot' arms. CM" iiow nuicli glory was I thus deprivetl ! 

"My eneniies alwavs s]>oke ot' iu\ love ol'war, but was I uol ooustanlly 
engagvd in selt'-defense ? At'ter e\evy victory I gained, ditl I not itntiuyliatcly 
make proposals ot" peace V 'V\\v tai-l is, 1 nevtM- was master ot' my own actions. 
I never was entirely myselt". I might ha\c coneei\ed many plans, ))ut 1 
never hatl it in my power to execute any. I held tlu' hchn witii a vigoro\is 
hand, hut the t"uvy ot" the waves was grcati-r liiau any t'orcc 1 couhl exert in 
resisting .them. 1 j)rudently yielded, rather than imur the risk ot" sinkii\g 
through stublxnn opposition. I never Avas truly my own master, but was 
alwavs controlled bv the t"orce ot' circumst«nc«>s. 'IMms, at the connnencc- 
nuMit ot" mv rise, during the OtMisulatc, my sincere t"riends and warm partisans 
t'rcipicntly asked me, Avith the best intentions, and as a guide t"or their own 
comlnct, ir/idf point / inia ahitiiKj at ; and I always auswcrctl that 1 did 
not know. Thev were surprised, probably dissatisfied, ami yet I spoke the 
truth. SubscipuMitlv, during the Kmpire, when there was less familiarity, 
many t'aces seemed \o put the same (pu>stion to me, a>»d I might still ha\e 
given the same replv. I was not master ot" my actions, because 1 was not 
t"oolish enough to attempt to twist events into cont"orn»ity with niy system: 
on the contrarv, 1 imniUled my system according io the unt'on'scen succession 
ot" events. This ot"ten ap[H>arcd like unsteadiness and inconsistency, and ot" 
these t'aults I was sometinu>s unjustly accused." 

Atter alhuling to some other subjt>cts, the l-hnperor said, '* Chie ot" my great 
plans was the rejoining;, the conciMitratiiMi ot' those same gvographieal nations 
which have been disunited ami j^arcidcil owX by revolution and policy. Theiv 
are dispersed in Kurope iipwanl ot" thirty millions ot' l-'rcnch, tit'tccn millions 
of 8panianls, tifteen millions of Italians, and thirty niilHons of CJcrmans, ami 
it was my intention to incorporate these several ]>eoj)le each into one nation. 
It wo\ild have been a noble thing to have advanced into posterity Avith such 
a train, and attended by the blessings of future ages. I t"elt niysclf worthy 
o( this glory ! 

"At'ter this summary simpliticatiou, it woidd have been possible to indulge 
tlie chimera o( the than hltol o( civilization. In this state o^ thhjg"S, thow # 
wo\dd have been sonic chance of establishing in every country a unity of 
codes, of principles, oi opinions, o^ scntinuMjts, views, and interests. 'Then, 
perhaps, by the help of the miivcrsal ditfusion of knowledgi\ one might have 
thought of attempting, in the givat Kuropcan t'amilv, the application o^ tlie 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONOWOOD. 473 

American CongrcHH or tlu; AmjjliictyonB of O recce. What a perspective of 
power, graadcur, IxappiricHH, and proH};erity would thu« have appeared I 

"'Jlie concentration of tljirfy or forty rnillionH of irenchmen wa» com- 
pleted and perf<',eted. That of fifteen rnillionH of SpaniardH wan nearly ae- 
cornpiiHhed. J>';cauHe J. did not Kubdiie the Spaniards, it will henceforth b^ 
n'^cj-A that thjTjy were invinciblo, for nothing in more common ttmn to convert 
accident into principle. ]5ijt the fact in that they were actually conquered, 
and at the very moment when they CHcaped me, the Cortes of Cadi>2 were sc^ 
cretly in treaty with me. TJiey were not delivered eitlier by their own resist- 
ance or thf; efforfs of the Enj^lish, but by the reverKf;H which, I Hustained at 
distant points, and, above all, by the error J commilted in transferring my 
wliole forcf;» to the distance of a thousand hiagues from them. ] lad it not 
been for this, the Spanish government would shortly liave })(iCM consolidated, 
the jjul^iic mind would have been tranrpjillized, and hostile parties would have 
])('Ain rallied together, 'i'liree or four years wouhl }iavc restored the Span- 
iards to profound peace and brilliant proHperity. They would have become 
a compact nation, arid 1 should have well deserved their gratitude, for I should 
liavc saved them from the tyranny by which they are now oppressed, and th**; 
t^irrible aj^-itations that await them. 

" VV^ith regard to the fifteen millions of Italians, their concentration was 
already far advanced ; it only wanted maturity. Tlic pjople were daily be- 
coming more firmly establinhed in the unity of principles and legislation^ and 
also in the unity of thought and feeling — tliat certain and infallible cement 
of liuman concentration. I'hc union of Piedmont to 1 ranee, and the junc- 
tion of l-*arma, 'J'uscany, and Home, were, in my mind, only temporary meas- 
ures, intended merely to guarantee and promote the national education of the 
Italians. You may judge of the correctness of my views and of the influ- 
ence of common laws. The portions of Italy that were united to France, 
though that union might have been regarded as the insult of invasion on our 
part, were, in spite of their Italian patriotism, the very places tliat continued 
most attaclKid to us. Now tliat they are restored to themselves, they con- 
ceive that they liave bwn invaded and disinheritcfl, and so they certainly 
have Vicn !* 

" AJl the soutli of Kurope, therefore, would soon have bf^iu rendered com- 
pact in point of locality, views, opinions, sentiments, and interests. In this 
state of things, wliat would have been the weight of all the nations of th". 

* The Emperor, in dictating hi» memoir« to Count Monthiolon, more fully unfolded hi» majeetk 
de«igri8 in the following language : 

" It was Napoleon'8 dcHirc to raiae up the Italian nation, and to reunite the VenetianB, Milanefef. 
Pic<lmontese, Genoene, TuBcaoH, Pamnc«a88, Modencne, liomanB, Ncapolitan«, Siciliana, and .Sar- 
dinians in one independent nation, bounded by the Alps and the Adriatic, Ionian and Mediterranean 
SeaH. Sueh was the immortal trophy he wa« raising to hiij glory. This great and powerful king- 
dom would have been, by land, a che^ to the houne of AuKtria ; while at Bea its fleets, combined 
with those of Toulon, would liave niled the Me^literranean, and protected the old course of trade to 
India by the lied Sea and Suez. Pujrne, the capital of this state, was the Eternal City ; coveretl 
by the three barriers of the Alps, the I^o, and the Apennines ; nearer than any other to the three 
great islands. But Napoleon ha/l many obstacles to surmount. He Haul at the Council of Lyons. 
' It will take me twenty years to establiKh the Itali^m nation.' " 



474 N\roi roN AT ST. uKi.h:NA. [rnvr. \\\ll. 

NVwih? Whrtt h\M«{\n olUwis v\>uUl l\a\T b»\>kou (Imntgli s«o vstwujj « K»r- 
riovV 'ri\o ovM»vvu(rrttivM» of iho l5oru\;n\!< muj^f ha\o Ihv»\ otVootovl humv 
5?r»<lu{iUv, <«vvl lUoivUnx^ I l>{ul ^louo \u> u»vmx^ than tiiiuj^htV thoir u>v>nstnM\s 
KVmjxUorttiou. ^Jot tli«t thov woix^ \mpix^}v«.»vil tor iHniooutr«lir.«tioii ; vm» ilvo 
i\M>tr.ny, tUov Wvmx^ tvV> woll jmvjvuvvI tor if, jinU thoy n\iv;'ht Kjuv Mindly 
rij»OA\ iiv »x^cu^(un\ {>ji;iiust \»s IhMoix^ thoy h;ul v\u\»imx^1um\vUhI ouv ilosigiis. llv^w 
hsj>|KM\s it tJiat «o t>»t^Tn\!iu |uiuoo h«s yvt tornunl « jiu^t notion ot'lho spirit 
of his nation, anil t\»rnoil it tv^ gwil {>ooount ? (.Vrtaiuly. il' Hoawu hjul mailo 
nio rt pviniv ot' iuM«n,uvy nn\ivl tho ovitio.il ovvnts ot' our tiiuos, I j^hoiiKl it\- 
tkllihly havx^ jixnvTiunl tho thirty uulUoUvS ot'iJornuuvs oomhitxod : jukI t\\>ni 
whx'U I know v>t' thon\. I think I n\rty vontnn^ to jitHrvn that, it' thoy had oniv 
oUvtOil and piwlainunl nu\ thoy >vouUl nvM ha\o toi^sakon nu\ and I slionUl 
nowr h,"4vo Ihxmi «t St, Holoiva." 

I'hon. at'tor svMno niohu\ohv>ly dotails* and oou\)v\visons. ivsumiuii' tho |n\^- 
\ ious {iuhjvvt, ho scud, 

" At all ovontj4, this v\M\ivntmtiou will W ln\>\»sihf alnMif, v^^vnor or lator, 
l>y tho wry torxx^ ot'ovxMJtst. Tho inipulso is givon, and I think thaK sitioo 
my tkll, ami tho dostruotivni ot' niy sy>«toin. no grand onuilibriunv oan }H>ssi- 
. Ivly W o^taUlisUovl in lOmv|H^ oxivpt by tho o\>nxHMitn>tiv>n and c\>ntlHlorafion 
of tho prinoijvil nation?^. Tho sowwign whvv iti tho lu'j^t gix\U ootitliot, v^Uall 
vsiuvvwly onihmvx^ tho v\*uiso of tho jHH>pU\ will tnul himsoU'at tho hoad of all 
Ku\\^|H\ and n\ay atton\pt whatowr ho |>loaso.<. 

" U will jvrha|\s Iv askod why I divl not sutVor thoso idoas to tnvnspixx^? 
why I did not submit thoni to public discussion, sinw thoy would, doubtless, 
ha\x> Kwuio ^vpular. and }H>pnlaTity wouUl l\a\x> Ihhmv .-in iunnojxso ix^mx- 
tvnwuvont to «>o ? My answvr is, that malovolonco is owr n»oiv aotiNX* than 
gvxxl intontiow ; tliat at tlu^ prvv^ont day tho jxwNTr of wit ovorruloi^ gvKnl sotiso, 
auvl oWourx"^ tho oloaix^st }H>iuts at will; and to haxv subntittinl thoso ini- 
jH>rtaa\t jnunts to public discussiv>u would havo Ihwu to cv>usigu thorn to tho 
moTvy of jv»rty s\>irit, |vas^iou, iutriguo, aiivl gossiping, whilo tho iut^Uliblo jx^ 
suit woidvl ha\x^ Kvn ilisvMxslit and op^x^sitio»\. I 0\>i\coiviHl, thoix^tlm\ that 
soonvy wa^ tho nio^t ailvisj\blo xvurso. I surrvnuulcd nw^solf witii that halo 
of »u\*^tx.\rv which pU\»#os and iutxMX>*ts the nmltitudo, gix^vj? birtli to sjHxni- 
iativMxs which vxVupy tho public mind. :«\d t'utally atVoixls v>p{Hntunitios tor 
thvvtc sudvlou auvl brilliant disclosuix^s which oxownso !<uch ituiKntaut intlu- 
oiux\ It waii this >».ry' pnuoiplo that actx^oratxxl my uutx>rtunatxj maioh to 
MxVvVw. Had I Ihvu nunx^ dclilvr:vtx\ 1 nnght havo avvrtixl ovx^rvovil: but 
I xxuild not vlclay auvl atVorxl ti»\\o for comment. \\ ith my caixx^r alrx>ady 
tr^cxxl out, with my ixl<^;$ tbnuod jfor the tututv, it w;»i» ucoo^sary that luy 
moNTeiwxMxt and n\y succx^ss should sihmxu a^ it woix\ su|XH*nat\uul. 

" 1 will name another Ovvasiou on which acvMvlont w^x^ taken forpnueiple, 
I t5*iUxl in my x>xjHxlitiou against the Uussiatis, ami thoy then>tbro cousixler 
themsv^l>\>^ inv»ncibU\ l>ut c;vi\ any thitxg Iv nxoro xMi\n\tvus ? Ask men 
«^' sense ,H\ui n\tUx^tiv>n among tl\eu>. Ask Alexander hitnsolf, and let him 
jvcolloct the opinions ho ot\tx>rt}uneil at tl\o tiine, W.^s I dx^toatvxl by the et- 
ibrt^ of the Russiai\s ? Xo : n\y tailurv must lx» attributoxl to purx? accident, 



18Uj, NovornW.J RKSIDENCE AT LONGWOOD, 475 

to abHolutc f'atuliiy. l''irHf, a capital waH burned to tfic frrcmrul by forci;^) 
inlrJj^iicrH, in ddianco of ilH inhabitantH. B<^cond, the front Hct in with Hucb 
unuHual HUfJ(J(;nrioHH and Hcvcrity tbat It waH regarded aw a kind of plif^norn- 
eiion. '\'<) theHC diHanters rnuKt be added a ma,HB of falHe reportB, Hilly in- 
trigiif;H, tniaeliery, and ntupidity, and many tbingB tliat will, perhapn, one day 
eonifj^o light, which will excune or juHtify thr; two great errors I committed 
in diphnnacy and war, namely, to liave i4Tiderf,aken Hucli an enterprise, leav- 
ing on my flankn, which Hoon became my rear, two cabinetH of whicli I wa.s 
not maHter, and two allied armicH, who, on the leant check, would become 
my f.nernieH. But to come to a concluHion, and to annul with a word avc^y 
charge that can be brought againHt me, 1 may nay tluit thi^ iarnouH war, tliig 
bold cnter|/riHe, were perfectly involuntary on my part. I did not wiah to 
give l;attle, ncitlier dirl AlexanJe.r; hut, being onco in presence, circam«tan- 
ccH urged uh on, and J^'ate accoajplinhcd tiie rest." 

Aft(;r a i'cw momentw' Hiienee, and aw if waking from a reverie, the Emperor 
adfJed, "A I'Venchrnan n>ernaf1otte.^ liad in bin hanrln the fate of the world I 
If lie iiad poHHCHHcd judgmf;nt and Hpirit equal to the exalted nituation in 
which he w^h placed, if he had been a good Hwede, a» he pretw^ided he was, 
he Tfiight liave rf-Htored tlie glory and pow'-.r of Iiin adopted country, have 
rf,takf'.ri I'inland, and arrived at St. Peternburg before 1 reached Mohcow. 
l>ut hfi was swayed by personal considerations, silly vanity, and all sorts of 
mean paHHionH. His head wan turned when he Haw that he, an old Jacobin, 
waB courted and flattered by Legitimates — when he found himBclf iace to 
face, holding political and friendly conferences with an emperor of all the 
JiuHHiaH, who took great painn to cajolf. liim. Tt in affirmed tfiat hints were 
even tiirown out to him of tlie poH.sihiiity of his obtaining tlif; hand of one of 
the sisters of the Russian Emperor by divorcing his wife ; and in a letter ad- 
dre.HHf;^! to him ]>y a I'Vfjnch prince, tlie writer remarked, with complacericy, 
that liearn wa.s the cradle of fjoth tiieir Iioubch. 77^6 Aoufte oj' /JernadoUe, 
forsooth ! 

"Dazzled by liis rine of fortune, lie Hacrificed both his adopted and hiH 
/riother country, liis true power, tiie cauHf^ of the people, and the welfare of 
lOuropc! For this he will pay dearly. No sooner liad lie accomplished all 
that wan f^xpccted of him, than he began to feel what awaib;d him. ft is said 
that lie has repented of liis conduct, but lie has not yet expiated it. He in 
now the only upstart sovereign in Europe. The scandal can not remain un- 
puninhed. It would be too dangerous an example." 

iJr. O'Meara records : " JS'apoleon sliowed me tlie marks of two wounds, 
one a very deep cicatrix above the left knee, which he said he had received in 
liis first campaign of Italy, and was of so serious a nature tliat the surgf^^ns 
were in dou};t wliethcr it might not be ultimately necessary to amputate, 
1 le observed tliat, when he was wounded, it was always kept a secret, in or- 
der not to diHcourage tljc soldiers. Ilia other wan on tlie toe, and liad beeri 
rec(;ived at JOckmiilil. 

" 'At the siege of Acre,' continued the Emperor, 'a shell thrown by Syd- 
ne,y 8mifh fell at my feet. Two soldiers, wliO w(^r(> close by, seized and 



476 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. XXXII. 



closely embraced me, one in front and the other on one side, and made a ram- 
part of theii bodies for me against the effect of the shell, which exploded, 
and overwhelmed us with sand. We sunk into the hole formed by its 




THE BOMB-SHELL. 



bursting ; one of them was wounded. I made them both officers. One ha.« 
since lost a leg at IMoscow, and commanded at Yincennes when I left Paris. 
When he was summoned by the Russians, he replied that, as soon as they 
sent him back the leg he had lost at Moscow, he would surrender the for- 
tress. 

" ' Many times in my life,' continued he, ' have I been saved by my sol- 
diers and officers tlirowino; themselves before me when I Avas in the most im- 
minent danger. At Areola, when I was advancing. Colonel ]\Iuiron, my aid- 
de-camp, threw himself before me, covered me Avith his body, and received the 
wound which was destined for me. He fell at my feet, and his blood spout- 
ed up in my face. He gave his life to preserve mine. Never yet, I believe. 
has there been such devotion shown by soldiers as mine have manifested for 
me. In all my misfortunes, never has the soldier, even when expiring, been 
wanting to me ; never has man been served more faithfully by his troops. 
With the last drop of blood gushing out of their veins, they exclaimed Vive 
V Empereur !' " 

O'Meara asked, if he had gained the battle of Waterloo, whether he would 
have agreed to the treaty of Paris. 

Napoleon replied, " I would certainly have ratified it. I would not have 
made such a peace myself Sooner than agree to much better terms, I ab- 
dicated before ; but finding it already made, I would have kept it, because 
France had need of repose." 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 477 

November 12. The conversation turned upon the Emperor's return from 
Elba, and his second fall at Waterloo. 

"It is very certain," said the Emperor, "that during the events of 1815 
I relinquished the anticipation of ultimate success. I lost my first confi- 
dence. Perhaps I found that I was wearing beyond the time of life at which 
Fortune usually proves favorable, or perhaps, in my own eyes, in my own 
imagination, the spell that had hung over my miraculous career was broken ; 
but, at all events, I felt that something was wanting. Kind Fortune no longer 
followed my footsteps, and took pleasure in lavishing her smiles upon me. 
She was now succeeded by rigid Fate, who took ample revenge for the few 
favors I obtained, as it were by force. It is a remarkable fact, that every 
advantage I obtained at this period was immediately succeeded by a reverse. 

"I marched through France, and arrived in the capital amid the enthusi- 
asm and universal acclamations of the people. But no sooner had I reached 
Paris, than, by a sort of magic, and without any adequate motive, all around 
me retracted and grew cold. I had adduced plausible reasons for obtaining 
a sincere reconciliation with Austria, whither I had dispatched agents more 
or less acknowledged; but Murat was there with his fatal enterprise. It 
was concluded at Vienna that he was acting under my orders, and, measur- 
ing me by their own scale, they regarded my whole conduct as a complica- 
tion of artifice, and determined to overreach me by counter-intrigue. 

"The opening of my campaign was well managed, and proved successful. 
I should have surprised the enemy in detail but that a deserter from among 
our generals gave him timely notice of our plans. I gained the brilliant vic- 
tory of Ligni, but my lieutenant robbed me of its fruits. Finally, I tri- 
umphed even at Waterloo, and was immediately hurled into the abyss. Yet 
I must confess that all these strokes of Fate distressed me more than they 
surprised me. I felt the presentiment of an unfortunate result. Not that 
this in any way influenced my determinations and measures, but the fore- 
boding certainly haunted my mind." 

The Emperor's first thought after the battle of Waterloo was to return to 
Paris. "At my command," said he, "the whole population would have 
risen. I should suddenly have found my forces recruited by the addition 
of one or two hundred thousand men. But the Allies, on retiring, might have 
burned the capital, and this disaster would have been accounted my work. 
It is true, the burning of Paris might have proved, in reality, the salvation of 
France, as the burning of Moscow was the salvation of Russia; but such 
sacrifices can only be made by the parties interested." 

The second thought was to proceed to Italy, to form a junction with the 
viceroy. " But this," said Napoleon, " would have been a desperate course, 
without the chance of obtaining an adequate result. It would have removed 
the theatre of conflict to too remote a point. Public enthusiasm would have 
had time to subside, and we should no longer have been fighting in France, 
on whose sacred soil alone we could hope to work prodigies that had become 
indispensable." 

He very much regretted having yielded in 1814, when in his position at 



478 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXII. 

St. Dizier and Doulevant, to the various representations and suggestions by 
which he was assailed, and which induced hiin, against his inclination, to 
make a countermarch upon Paris. 

" Here I wanted firmness," said he. "I should have followed up my in- 
tention of advancing to the Rhine, collecting re-enforcements from all the gar- 
risons on my way, and exciting the rise of the peasantry ; by this means I 
should soon have possessed an immense army. Murat would immediately 
have rejoined me ; and he and the viceroy would have made me master of 
Vienna, if the Allies had presumed to deprive me of Paris. But no ; the en- 
emy would have shrunk from the dangers with which he would have been 
surrounded. The allied sovereigns would have regarded it as a favor to have 
been permitted to retire. The storm that assailed us would have subsided. 
Peace would have been concluded and sincerely maintained, ibr all were ex- 
hausted, all had wounds to heal ! 

"Abroad, war could no longer have been thought of; and at home, such 
a result must have had the eftect of destroying all illusion, frustrating every 
evil design, and permanently blending the opinions, views, and interests of 
all parties. I should once more have seated myself triumphantly on the 
throne, surrounded by my invincible bands. The heroic and faithful portion 
of the people would have regulated those who had wavered, and the men 
who had shown themselves so eager for repose might have enjoyed it. A 
new generation of chiefs would have remoulded our character. Every effort 
would have been directed to the internal welfare of the country, and France 
would have been happy." 

"The departure of the Empress from Paris,*'' observed Las Casas, "pro- 
duced a fatal effect on the public mind. The young King of Rome, contrary 
to custom, obstinately refused to quit the palace. He wept bitterly, and it 
was found necessary to carry him away by force. It was universally report- 
ed that the Empress wished to remain, and that the council was inclined to 
second her wishes, until precise orders were received from the Emperor, di- 
recting her to quit Paris in case of urgent danger on the part of the enemy." 

" Yes," said the Emperor ; " and those orders wxre very necessary. The 
Empress was young and totally inexperienced. Had she been capable of 
personal decision, my directions would have been quite the contrary. Paris 
then would have been her proper post ; but I foresaw the intrigues of which 
she would be the object, and I wished to prevent at Paris what subsequently 
occurred at Orleans. There, the men who were planning the regency, in the 
expectation of ruling under the Empress, prevented her from joining me. 
What fatal consequences were thus produced ! Would to heaven that I had 
also dispatched timely orders directing her to quit Orleans!" 

The Emperor was in his bath when he received Dr. O'Meara. He was 
very social, and in reply to a question respecting his opinion of Talleyrand, 
he said, 

" Talleyrand is the most vile of agitators, a base flatterer. He is a cor- 
rupt man, who has betrayed all parties and persons. Wary and circumspect, 
always a traitor, but ahvays in conspiracy with Fortune. Talleyrand treats 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 479 

his enemies as if thej were one day to become liis friends, and his friends as 
if they- were to become his enemies. He is a man of talent, but venal in ev- 
ery thing. Nothing could be done with liim but by means of bribery. The 
Kings of Wurtemberg and Bavaria made so many complaints of his rapacity 
and extortion that I took his portfolio from him. Besides, I found that he 
had divulged to some intriguers a most important secret which I had con- 
fided to him alone. 

" He hates the Bourbons in his heart. When I returned from Elba, Tal- 
leyrand wrote to me from Vienna, oifering his services, and to betray the 
Bourbons, provided I would pardon and restore him to favor. He argued 
upon a part of my proclamation, in which I said there were circumstances 
which it was impossible to resist, which he quoted. But I considered that 
there were a few I was obliged to except, and refused, as it would have ex- 
cited indignation if I had not punished somebody." 

Noveiiiber 13. This morning, Las Casas, being in the Emperor's apart- 
ment, examined the large watch of Frederick tlie Great, which hung beside 
the chimney-piece. This led the Emperor to say, " I have been the possess- 
or of glorious and valuable relics. I had the sword of Frederick the Great, 
and the Spaniards presented to me, at the Tuileries, the sword of Francis I. 
This was a high compliment, and must have cost them something of a sac- 
rifice. The Turks and Persians have also sent me arms which were said 
to have belonged to Genghis Khan, Tamerlane, Shah Nadir, and I know 
not whom else ; but I attached importance, not to the fact, but to the inten- 
tion." 

^' I wonder, sire," said Las Casas, " that you had not endeavored to keep 
the sword of Frederick." 

"Why, I had my own," replied Napoleon, smiling, and gently pinching 
Las Casas's ear. 

Afterward, alluding to his second marriage, " I had intended," said he, " to 
make choice of a French woman, and it would have been well if I had done 
so. Such a union would have been eminently national. France was suffi- 
ciently great, and her monarch sufficiently powerful, to set aside every con- 
sideration of foreign policy. Besides, among sovereigns, the ties of blood are ' 
always made to yield to political interests : hence what scandalous violations 
of moral feeling are frequently exhibited to the world. Another objection 
that may be urged against marriages of this kind is the admission of a foreign 
princess into state secrets, which she may be tempted to betray ; and if a 
sovereign place trust in his connections abroad, he may find that he has set 
his feet on an abyss covered with flowers. It is absurd to suppose that such 
alliances can guarantee or insure any advantage." 

Many of the most distinguished statesmen of France were very sanguine 
that the Emperor's second marriage would secure peace for the country. 
Others, less informed about the real state of affairs, and who thought it was . 
in the Emperor's power to make peace whenever he should wish to do so, 
thought that Napoleon would be enticed by the enjoyments of his new bridal 
to seek repose. A few days after the announcement of the intended alliance, 



480 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXII. 

the Emperor, in a moment of good-liumoi'cd familiarity, said to the Duke of 
Decres, 

" Well, it appears that people are very much pleased with my intended 
marriage." 

"Yes, sire," was the reply. 

"I suppose they expect that the lion will slumber," added the Emperor. 

" To say the truth, sire," the duke replied, " we are somewhat inclined to 
form that expectation." 

"Well," resumed Napoleon, after a moment's silence, "it is a mistake. 
And it is not the fault of the lion either. Slumber would be as sweet to him 
as to any other ; but do you not see that, while I am, to all appearances, in- 
cessantly attacking, I am nevertheless always engaged in self-defense V 

The correctness of this assertion no one will now dispute. 

To-day the governor sent word to Las Casas that he intended to remove 
Las Casas's servant, and give him another, which the governor would select. 
The count, preferring not to have a spy of Sir Hudson Lowe in attendance 
upon him, very properly replied, 

"The governor has it in his power to send away my servant if he pleases, 
but he may spare himself the trouble of sending me one of his choosing. I 
am daily learning better and better how to dispense with the comforts of life. 
I can, if necessary, serve myself. This additional privation will be but 
slightly felt amid tlie sufferings to which we are daily subjected." 

"I rendered an account of the affair to the Emperor," says Las Casas, 
"who applauded my determination of not admitting a spy among us." 

"But," said he, in the most engaging manner, "as this sacrifice has been 
made for the interests of us all, it is not proper that you alone should be the 
sufferer. Send to Gentilini, my footman, and let him wait on you. He will 
be happy to earn a few Napoleons in addition to his wages ; besides, tell him 
it is by my desire." 

The Emperor then sent for Gentilini himself, and repeated the order with 
his own mouth, as Gentilini had some scruples about the propriety of a serv- 
ant of the Emperor waiting upon a private person. lie feared that he should 
thus appear wanting in respect to his illustrious master. 

J^ovemher 14. The Emperor spent the whole day in his room, dictating to 
Count Montholon a chapter on maritime rights. This chapter will be found 
in his memoirs as published by the count. It is a masterly state paper, and 
no man will now undertake to controvert the conclusions which he there 
establishes. The principles which he there avows, and which he contended 
for through life, have now become the faith of all nations, if we except a fee- 
ble and lingering remonstrance which England, so long the intolerant despot 
of the seas, occasionally ventures to utter. 

At six o'clock the Emperor sent for Las Casas. He read and coiTected 
some valuable notes which he had dictated to General Bertrand on ancient 
and modern warfare, and on the different plans of composing and regulating 
armies. In the conversation which ensued, he said,. 

" No series of great actions is the mere work of chance and fortune. It 



r 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 481 

is always the result of reflection and genius. Great men rarely fail in the 
most perilous undertakings. Look at Alexander, Ceesar, Hannibal, and the 
great Gustavus ; they always succeeded. Were they great men merely be- 
cause they were fortunate ? No ; but because, being great men, they pos- 
sessed the power of commanding fortune. When we come to inquire into 
the causes of their success, we are astonished to find that they did every 
thing to obtain it. "-n 

'" " Alexander, when scarcely beyond the age of boyhood, with a mere hand- 
ful of brave troops, conquered a quarter of the globe. But was this achieve- 
ment the result of a mere accidental irruption, a sort of unexpected deluge ? 
No ; all was profoundly calculated, boldly executed, and prudently managed. [ 
Alexander proved himself at once a distinguished warrior, politician, and leg- \ 
islator. Unfortunately, on attaining the zenith of glory and success, his head / 
was turned and his heart corrupted. He commenced his career with the 
mind of Trajan, but he closed it with the heart of Nero and the manners of 
Heliogabalus. 

" Cffisar, the reverse of Alexander, commenced his career at an advanced 
period. His youth was passed in indolence and vice, but he ultimately 
evinced the most active and elevated mind. He is one of the most amiable 
characters in history. Cassar overcame the Gauls and the laws of his coun- | 
try ; but his great warlike achievements must not be attributed merely to 
V chance and fortune. <^^ / 

" Hannibal is, perhaps, the most surprising character of any, from the in- f 
trepidity, confidence, and grandeur evinced in all his enterprises. At the ) 
age of twenty-six he conceived what is scarcely conceivable, and executed ( 
what must have been looked upon as impossible. Renouncing all commu- } 
nication with his country, he marched through hostile or unknown nations, / 
which he was obliged to attack and subdue ; he crossed the Pyrenees and the \ 
Alps, which were presumed to be impassable, and descended upon Italy, sac- 
rificing the half of his army for the mere acquisition of his field of battle, the 
mere right of fighting. 

" He occupied and governed Italy for the space of sixteen years, being 
several times within a hair's breadth of possessing himself of Rome, and only 
relinquished his prey when his enemies, profiting by the lesson he had set 
them, marched to attack the Carthaginian territory. Can it be supposed that 
Hannibal's glorious career and achievements were the mere result of chance 
and fortune's favors ? Certainly Hannibal must have been endowed with 
great vigor of mind, and he must have also possessed a vast consciousness 
of his own skill in the art of war, when, being interrogated by his youthful 
conqueror, he hesitated not to place himself, though subdued, next in rank to 
Alexander and Pyrrhus, whom he esteemed as the first of warriors. 

" All the great captains of antiquity, and those who, in modern times, have 
successfully retraced their footsteps, performed vast achievements only by 
conforming with the rules and principles of art, that is to say, by correct com- 
binations, and by justly comparing the relation between means and conse- 
quences, efforts and obstacles. They succeeded only by the strict obaerv- 

Hh 



482 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXII. 

ance of these rules, whatever may have been the boldness of their enterprises, 
or the extent of the advantages gained. They invariably practiced war as a 
science. Thus they have become our great models, and it is only by closely 
imitating them that we can hope to come near them. 

" ]My greatest successes have been ascribed merely to good fortune, and 
my reverses will no doubt be imputed to my faults ; but if I should write an 
account of my campaigns, it will be seen that, in both cases, my reason and 
my faculties were exercised in conformity with principles. 

" With Conde, science seemed to be instinctive, Nature having created him 
with maturity of intellect. Turenne, on the contrary, perfected his talent by 
dint of study and acquirements." 

"Turenne," said Las Casas, "formed no pupils, while Conde left many 
distinguished ones behind him." 

" That," replied Napolejon, " was the mere caprice of chance; the contrary 
ought to have happened. But it is not always in the master's power to 
form good pupils. Nature must lend her aid ; tlie seed must be sown in fer- 
tile soil. 

" Frederick the Great," he continued, " was in all respects a superexceUent 
tactician, and possessed the art of rendering his troops absolute machines. 
How often men's characters prove to be totally different from what their early 
actions indicate ! Do they themselves know what they really are ? Fred- 
erick, at the commencement of his career, took to flight in the very face of vic- 
tory ; and certainly the whole of his subsequent history proves him to have 
been the most intrepid, most tenacious, and coolest of men." 

After dinner, the conversation still continued upon the art of war. " There 
can be no perfect army," said the Emperor, "until, in imitation of the Ro- 
man plan, the soldier shall receive his supply of corn, grind it in his hand- 
mill, and bake his bread himself. We could not hope to possess an army 
until we abolish our monstrous train of civil attendants and commissary offi- 
cers. I contemplated all these changes, but they never could have been put 
in practice except during profound peace. An army, in a state of war, would 
infallibly have rebelled against such innovations. By the adoption of the 
ancient plan, an army might march to the farther extremity of the world ; 
but it would require time to bring about such a transition ; it could not be 
accomplished by a mere order of the day. I long entertained the idea of 
such a change, but, however great might have been my power, I should nev- 
er have attempted to introduce it by force. There is no subordination with 
empty stomachs. Such an object could only have been effected in time of 
-peace, ^nd by insensible degrees. I should have accomplished it by creating 
new :ftiilitary manners." 

The Emperor constantly insisted on subjecting the whole nation to the 
laws of the conscription. " I am inexorable," said he, one day, in the Coun- 
cil of State, " on the subject of exemption. It would be criminal. How 
could I acquit my conscience with having exposed the life of one man for 
the advantage of another ? I do not even think that I would exempt my 
own son. The conpoviption is tlie root of a nation, its moral purification, the 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 483 

real foundation of its habits. By means of the conscription, the nation is 
classed according to its real interests for defense abroad and tranquillity at 
liome. Organized, built up in this way, the French people may defy the 
world, and may with justice renew the saying of the proud Gauls, ' If the 
shy should fall, ids will keep it up vnth our lances.^ " 

According to Napoleon's plans, the conscription, instead of impeding edu- 
cation, was to have been the means of promoting it. He intended to have 
established in every regiment a school for the prosecution of studies, and la- 
bors of every kind, in polite education, the liberal arts, and mechanics. 

" Nothing," he remarked, "would have been so easy. The principle be- 
ing once adopted, we should have seen each regiment supplied with all that 
was necessary out of its own ranks. And what advantages would have ac- 
crued to the mass of society by the dispersion of these young men, with their 
acquired knowledge, even had it been merely elementary, and the habits nec- 
essarily produced by it ! " 

In the course of conversation, the Emperor spoke of the evil arising from 
lawsuits. " They are," said he, " an absolute leprosy, a social cancer. My 
Code had singularly diminished lawsuits by placing numerous causes within 
the decision of every individual. But there still remained much for the leg- 
islator to accomplish. Not that he could hope to prevent men from quarrel- 
ing — that they have done in all ages — but he might have prevented a third 
party in society from living upon the quarrels of the two others, and even 
stirring up disputes to promote their own interest. It was, therefore, my in- 
tention to establish the rule, that lawyers should never receive fees except 
when they gained cases. Thus what litigations would have been prevented ! 
On the first examination of a cause, a lawyer would have rejected it had it 
been at all doubtful. There would have been little fear that a man, livinsr 
by his labor, would have undertaken to conduct a lawsuit from mere motives 
of vanity ; and if he had, he would himself have been the only sufferer in 
case of failure. But my idea was opposed by a multitude of objections, and 
as I had no time to lose, I postponed the further consideration of the sub- 
ject. Yet I am still convinced that the scheme might, with certain modifi- 
cations, have been turned to the best account." 

When speaking of the clergy, the Emperor remarked that he intended to 
have rendered curates a more useful set of men. 

" The more they are enlightened," said he, " the less will they be inclined 
to abuse their ministry. I wished them to acquire a knowledge of agricul- 
ture, and the elements of medicine and law. Thus dogmatism and contro- 
versy, the battle-horse and armor of fools and fanatics, would gradually have 
become more and more rare in the pulpit, from whence would have been pro- 
mulgated the doctrines of pure morality, always pleasing, eloquent, and per- 
suasive. As men usually love to discourse on what they know, the curates 
would have instructed the peasantry in their agricultural labors, counseled 
them against chicanery, and given advice to the sick. Such pastors would 
have been real blessings to their flocks ; and as they would have been allow- 
ed a liberal stipend, they would have enjoyed high consideration ; they would 



484 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXIII. 

have respected themselves, and been respected by all. They would have 
possessed the power of feudal lords, and they might, without danger, have 
exercised all their influence. A curate would have been a natural justice of 
peace, a true moral chief, to whom the direction of the population might have 
been safely intrusted, because he Avould himself have been dependent on the 
o-overnment for his appointment and salary. If to all this be added the 
study and privation necessary for the calling, and supposing the individuals 
to be possessed of good qualities of heart and mind, it must be confessed that 
pastors, thus constituted, would have produced a revolution in society high- 
ly advantageous to the cause of morality." 

It was one of Napoleon's favorite plans to establish a Eurojpean Institu- 
tion and European prizes to stimulate the learned societies of every country. 
He also wished to establish throughout Europe uniformity of coins, weights, 
measures, and of legislation. " Why," said he, " might not my Napoleon 
Code have served as the groundwork for a European Code, and my Imperial 
University have been the basis of a European University. Thus the whole 
population of Europe would have become one and the same family. And 
every man, while he traveled abroad, would still have found himself at home." 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

1816, November. Continued. 



Lonf^wood invested — Dramatic Readings — Lord Liverpool — Lord Sidmouth — LordBathnrst — Lord 
Castlereaph — The Division of Europe — Remarks on Wellington and Waterloo — Character of the 
French Ministers — Duroc — Marmont — Gaming — Memorable Remarks — A Hereditary Nobility 
— Truth of History — The Bourbon Conspiracy — Pichegru — Moreau. 

November 15. About three o'clock in the afternoon tlie Emperor sent for 
Las Casas, and took a short walk. He, however, was quite exhausted, and 
calling at General Bertrand's, sat for some time languidly in an arm-chair. 
Tliough cheerful, he was pale and emaciate, and was evidently fast sinking 
beneath his cruel privations. 

"As we passed through the wood," says Las Casas, " the Emperor saw 
the fortifications with which Ave are about to be surrounded. He could not 
forbear smiling at these useless and absurd preparations. He remarked that 
the ground in our neighborhood had been entirely disfigured by the removal 
of the kind of turf with which it was covered, and which had been carried 
away for the purpose of raising banks. In fact, for the last two montlis the 
governor has been incessantly digging ditches, constructing parf^pets, and 
planting palisadoes. He has quite blockaded us in Longwood, and the sta- 
ble, at present, presents every appearance of a redoubt. We are at a loss to 
guess where will be the advantage equivalent to the expense and labor be- 
stowed on these works, which excite, by turns, the ill humor and ridicule of 
the soldiers and Chinese who are employed upon them, and who call Long- 
wood Fort Hudson^ and the stable Fort Loxoe. We are assured that Sir 
Hudson often starts out of his sleep to devise new measures of security." 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



485 




THE EMPEROK EXAMINING THE FORTIFICATIONS. 



" Surely," said the Emperor, " this seems something like madness. Why 
can not the man sleep tranquilly and let us alone ? Has he not sense enough 
to perceive that the security of our local situation here is sufficient to remove 
all his panic terrors ?" 

After dinner the Emperor ordered the works of Racine to he brought from 
the library, and read to his friends some of the finest passages of Iphigenia, 
Mithridates, and Bajazet. 

"Though Racine," said he, "has produced chefs d'oeavres in themselves, 
yet he has diffused over them a perpetual air of insipidity. Love is eternally 
introduced, with its tones of languor and its tiresome accompaniments ; but 
these faults must not be attributed entirely to Racine, but to the manners of 
the age in which he wrote. Love was then, and even at a later period, the 
whole business of life with every one. This is always the case when society 
is in a state of idleness. As for us, our thoughts have been cruelly turned 
to other subjects by the great events of the Revolution." 

November 16. Las Casas found the Emperor amusing himself by looking 
over an English publication, a kind of political almanac. Alluding to the 
members of the English ministry who were mentioned in the work, he said 
to Las Casas, 

"Do you know any of them? "What was the general opinion of them 
when you were in England ?" 

" Sire," replied Las Casas, "it is so long since I left England that nearly 
all who are now distinguished in the ministry were then only commencing 
their career. At that time, none of them had come forward to the scene. 

" Lord Liverpool," said the Emperor, " appears to me to be the most wor- 
thy man among them. I have heard a great deal of good of him. He seems 
to have some feeling of propriety and decorum. I have no objection to a 
man being my enemy ; every one has his own business and his own duties 
to perform, but I have certainly a right to be indignant at unworthy conduct 



486 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXIII. 

and measures. Lord Sidmouth, I am told, too, is a worthy man enough, but 
he possesses no great share of understanding. He is one of those honest 
blockheads who, with the utmost sincerity, concur in all sorts of miscliief." 

" Sire," said Las Casas, "in my time Lord Sidmouth, under the name of 
Addington, Avas a member of the House of Commons, and was a man gen- 
erally esteemed. He was said to be the creature of Mr. Pitt, who was un- 
derstood to have appointed Addington as his successor, in order to insure 
to himself the means of returning to the ministry Avhenever he should think 
fit. The public were certainly greatly astonished to see Mr. Addington suc- 
ceed Pitt, as the post was considered to be far beyond his talents. One of 
the English opposition papers, alluding to Mr. Addington, quoted the remark 
made by a philosopher- — -Locke, I believe — who says that the mind of a child 
is a blank sheet of paper on which Nature has yet written nothing ; and the 
journal in question humorously observed, that when Nature wrote upon the 
blank sheet of the Doctor — the nickname then given to Mr. Addington — it 
must be confessed she left plenty of margin." 

"Well," resumed Napoleon, "what do you know of that sad fellow into 
whose keeping we have been delivered up — that Lord Bathurst ?" 

" Absolutely nothing, sire, either of his origin, his person, or his charac- 
ter." 

"For my part," said the Emperor, with some degree of warmth, "I have 
no opportunity of knowing him except by his conduct toward me ; and, in 
judging from that, I hold him to be the most vile, the most base, the most 
mean-spirited of men. The brutality of his orders, the coarseness of his lan- 
guage, the choice of his agents, all authorize me to make this declaration. 
An executioner, such as he has sent here, is not easily found. Such a se- 
lection could not be made at random. He must have been sought for, tried, 
judged, and instructed. Certainly this, in my opinion, is sufficient to justi- 
fy the moral condemnation of the man who could stoop to so base a course. 
By the arm which he moves, it is easy to guess what must be his heart ! 

"Lord Castlereagh," continued the Emperor, "governs every thing, and 
rules even the prince himself by dint of impudence and intrigue. Support- 
ed by a majority of his own creating, he is always ready to contend, with the 
utmost effrontery, against reason, law, justice, and truth. No falsehood stag- 
gers him : he stops at nothing, well knowing that he can always command 
votes to applaud and legalize whatever he does. He has completely sacri- 
ficed his country, and is daily degrading her by acting in opposition to her 
policy, doctrines, and interests. In short, he has entirely delivered her up 
to the Continent. The situation of England is becoming worse and worse. 
Heaven knows how she will extricate herself! 

"Lord Castlereagh is, I am informed," continued the Emperor, "looked 
upon, even in England, as a man politically immoral. He commenced his 
career by an act of political apostasy, which, though common enough in his 
country, nevertheless always leaves an indelible stain. He entered upon 
public life as an advocate of the people, and he has finally become the engine 
of power and despotism. If all that is said of him be correct, he must be 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 487 

execrated by his countiymen, the Irish, whom he has betrayed, and by the 
EngHsh, who may justly regard him as the destroyer of their domestic liber- 
ties and foreign interests. 

"He has had the impudence to bring forward in Parliament, as authentic 
facts, statements which he knew to be false, and which probably he himself 
fabricated ; and yet, on the authority of these documents, Murat's dethrone- 
ment was decided. Lord Castlereagh makes it his business to belie himself 
daily, in Parliament and in public meetings, by putting into my mouth lan- 
guage calculated to prejudice me in the eyes of the English, though he is well 
aware that he is making false assertions. This conduct is base, since he him- 
self withholds from me the power of refuting him. 

" He is the pupil of Pitt, of whom he probably thinks himself the equal, 
though he is merely the ape of that distinguished statesman. He has inces- 
santly pursued the plans and plots of his master against France. But even 
here, pertinacity and obstinacy were, perhaps, his only good qualities. But 
Pitt had grand views. With him his country's interest took place of every 
consideration. He possessed talent and ingenuity, and from England he 
moved the lever by which he ruled and influenced the Continental sovereigns 
at will. Castlereagh, on the contrary, substituting intrigue for ingenuity, 
and subsidies for genius, is regardless of his country's interest, and has in- 
cessantly employed the credit and influence of the Continental sovereigns 
merely to confirm and perpetuate his own power. However, such is the 
course of things in this world, that Pitt, with all his talent, constantly failed, 
while Castlereagh has been completely successful. Oh, blindness of For- 
tune ! 

* ' Castlereagh has proved himself entirely the man of the Continent. When 
master of Europe, he satisfied all the monarchs of the Continent, and only 
forgot his own country. His conduct has been so prejudicial to the national 
interests, so incompatible with the doctrines of his country, and altogether 
presents so much the appearance of inconsistency, that it is difficult to con- 
ceive how so wise a people as the English can allow themselves to be gov- 
erned by such a fool ! 

" He adopts legitimacy as the basis of his creed, and wishes to establish 
it as a political dogma, while that principle would sap the very foundation of 
the throne of his own sovereign. Besides, he acknowledges Bernadotte in 
opposition to the legitimate. Gustavus IV., who sacrificed himself for En- 
gland ; and he acknowledges the usurper Ferdinand YII. to the detriment of 
his venerable father, Charles IV. 

" He and the Allies establish, as another fundamental basis, the restora- 
tion of the old order of things, the redress of what they term past injuries, 
injustice, and degradation — in fine, the returning of political morality ; yet 
he scrupled not to sacrifice the republics of Venice and Genoa by abandon- 
ing the former to Austria and annexing the latter to Piedmont. He enriched 
Russia by the possession of Poland. He robbed the King of Saxony for 
the advantage of Prussia, who can no longer afford any aid to England. He 
separated Norway from Denmark, while, had the latter power been left more 



488 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXIII. 

independent of Russia, she might have surrendered to England the key of 
the Baltic ; and Norway was transfen-ed to Sweden, Avhich, by the loss of 
Finland and the islands of the Baltic, has fallen entirely under the subjection 
of Russia. Finally, by a violation of the first principles of general policy, 
he neglected, in his all-powerful situation, to restore the independence of Po- 
land, thereby exposing Constantinople, endangering the whole of Europe, and 
preparing a thousand troubles in Germany. 

" I need say nothing of the monstrous inconsistency of a minister, the 
representative of a nation pre-eminently free, restoring Italy to the yoke of 
slavery, keeping Spain in a state of bondage, and exerting every effort to forge 
fetters for the whole Continent. Does he think that liberty is only proper 
for the English, and the rest of Europe not fit to enjoy it ? But even sup- 
posing him to entertain this opinion, how does he explain his conduct Avith 
regard to his own countrymen, whom he is daily depriving of some of their 
rights? for example, the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, right or 
wrong ; the enforcement of the Alien Bill, by which, will it be credited ? the 
wife of an Englishman, should she happen to be a foreigner, may be driven 
from England at the Avill and pleasure of the minister ; the endless dispersion 
of spies and informers, those exciting agents and infernal instigators, by whose 
aid criminals may always be created and victims multiplied. In short, he 
has established at home the system of cold violence, the iron yoke, which he 
exercises over foreign dependencies. No ; Lord Castlereagh is not calculated 
to be the minister of a free people, or to command the respect of foreign na- 
tions. He is the vizier of the Continental sovereigns, at their instigation 
training his countrymen to slavery. He is the connecting link, the conductor 
by which English gold is dispersed over the Continent, and the despotic doc- 
trines of other countries imported into England. 

" He proves himself to be the partisan, the obsequious associate of the 
Holy Alliance, that mysterious coalition, of which I can not guess either the 
meaning or the object, which can afford neither utility nor advantage. Can 
it be directed against the Turks ? It would then be for the English to op- 
pose it. Can it really have for its object the maintenance of a general peace ? 
That is a chimera by which it is impossible diplomatic cabinets can be duped. 
With them alliances can only be formed for the purpose of opposition or coun- 
terpoise. They can not all be allied together. I can not, therefore, com- 
prehend this Holy Alliance, except by regarding it as a league of sovereigns 
against subjects. But in that case, what has Castlereagh to do with it ? If 
it be so, ought he not, one day, to pay dearly for his conduct ? 

" I once had Lord Castlereagh in my powder. He was intriguing at Cha- 
tillon, when, during one of our momentary successes, my troops passed be- 
yond the seat of Congress, which was, by this means, surrounded. The prime 
minister of England maintained no public character, and was unprotected by 
the law of nations. He was aware of his embarrassino; situation, and mani- 
fested the utmost uneasiness at thus finding himself in my power. I in- 
timated to him that he might give himself no anxiety, as he was at perfect 
liberty. I did this on my own account, and not on his, for certainly I had 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 489 

no reason to expect any good from him. However, some time after this, he 
evinced his gratitude in a very pecuHar way. When he saw me make choice 
of the Isle of Elba, he caused England to be proposed as my asylum, and 
employed all his eloquence and subtlety to induce me to make choice of that 
country as my place of residence. Now I may justly entertain suspicion of 
his offers, and, doubtless, he already meditated the horrible treatment which 
he is at this moment exercising toward me. 

" It was a misfortune for England that her prime minister treated person- 
ally with the Continental sovereigns. It was a violation of the spirit of the 
British Constitution. The English at first felt their pride flattered at seeing 
their representative dictate laws to Europe, but they have now abundant 
cause to repent, since the result has proved that, on the contrary, he only 
stipulated for embarrassment, degradation, and loss. It is an undoubted fact 
that he might have obtained all, while from blindness, incapacity, or perfidy, 
he sacrificed every thing. When seated at the banquet of monarchs, he 
blushed to bargain for peace like a merchant, and determined to treat liber- 
ally hke a lord. Thus he gained something in point of vanity, and, it may 
be presumed, he lost nothing in point of interest. His country alone suffer- 
ed, and will continue to suffer. 

"And the Continental sovereigns are likely to repent of having permitted 
their prime ministers to come into personal contact with each other. The 
result seems to have been, that these premiers have created among themselves 
a sort of secondary sovereignty, which they naturally guarantee to each other, 
and there is good reason to suppose it is accompanied by subsidies furnished 
with the knowledge of their respective sovereigns. This business may be 
very easily managed. Nothing can be more simple, and, at the same time, 
mo;re ingenious. In fixing the secret-service money, it is very easy to men- 
tion that such a one on the Continent has been very useful, that he may still 
continue to be so, and, therefore, that it is proper to make an acknowledg- 
ment for his services. This individual, in his turn, may represent to his gov- 
ernment that some man or other abroad has rendered important services, and 
even compromised his own interests, and that, consequently, he should not be 
forgotten. It was probably some such arrangements as these that occasion- 
ed a distinguished individual at Vienna to exclaim, in a moment of irritation, 
'■Such a one costs me as dear as my eyes.'' Doubtless these disgraceful 
schemes and transactions will one day come to light. We shall then see 
what enormous fortunes have thus been squandered and swallowed up. 
They will perhaps hereafter be recorded in new letters of Barillon ; but noth- 
ing will be unfolded, no characters wiU be disgraced, because contemporaries 
wiU have anticipated all." 

After this energetic effusion, in which Napoleon for the first time express- 
ed himself with such warmth and bitterness against the individuals of whom 
he had personally cause to complain, he was silent a few minutes. Then re- 
suming, he said, 

"And Lord Castlereagh is artful enough to support himself entirely on 
Lord Wellington. WelHngton has become his creature. Can it be possible 



V 



490 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXIII. 

that the modern Marlborough has Hnkecl himself in the train of a Castlereagh, 
and yoked his victories to the turpitude of a political mountebank ? It is 
inconceivable ! Can he endure the thought ? Has not his mind risen to a 
level with his success ?" 

" I had remarked," says Las Casas, " that, in general, the Emperor disliked 
to speak of Lord Wellington. He seemed carefully to avoid pronouncing 
his opinion upon him, feeling, no doubt, the impropriety of publicly depre- 
ciating the general who had triumphed over him. On the present occasion, 
however, he yielded, without reserve, to the full expression of his feelings. 
The consciousness of the indignities that were heaped upon him seemed at 
this moment to rise forcibly in his mind. His gestures, his features, his 
tone of voice, were all expressive of the utmost indignation. — s^ 

/^ (( 4 J liave been told,' said he, 'that it is through Wellington that I am 
/ here, and I believe it. It is conduct well worthy of him, who, in defiance y 
\ of a solemn capitulation, suffered. Ney to perish — Ney, with whom he had so ^ 
often been engaged on the field of battle. For my own part, it is very cer- 
tain I gave him a terrible quarter of an hour. This usually constitutes a 
claim on noble minds. His was incapable of feeling. My fall, and the lot j 
that might have been reserved for me, afforded him the opportunity of rca|>- 
ing higher glory than he has gained by all his victories. But he did not un- 
derstand this. Well, at any rate, he ought to be heartily grateful to old 
Blucher. Had it not been for him, I know not where " his grace" might have 
been to-day ; but I know that I, at least, shou^ld not have been at St. Helena. 
Wellington's troops were admirable, but his plans were despicable ; or, I 
should rather say, he formed none at all. He had placed himself in a situa- 
tion in which it was impossible he could form any ; and, by a curious chance, 
this very circumstance saved him. If he could have commenced a retreat, 
he must inMlibly have been lost. He certainly remained master of the bat- 
tle-field, but was his success the result of skill ? He has reaped the fruit 
of a brilliant victory, but did his genius prepare it for him ? His glory is 
Avholly negative. His faults were enormous. He, the European generalis- 
simo, in whose hands so many interests were intiiisted, and having before 
him an enemy so prompt and daring as myself, left his forces dispersed about, 
and slumbered in a capital until he was surprised. And yet, such is the pow- 
er of fatality ! in the course of three days, I tln-ee times saw the destiny of 
France and of Europe escape my grasp. 

" ' In the first place, but for the treason of a general, who deserted our ranks 
and betrayed my designs, I should have dispersed and destroyed all the en- 
emy's detached parties before they could have combined themselves into 
army corps. 

" ' Next, had it not been for the unusual hesitations of Ney at Quatre Bras, 
I should have annihilated the whole English army. 

" 'Finally, on my right, the extraordinary maneuvers of Grouchy, instead 
of securing victory, completed my ruin, and hurled France into the abyss. 

" ' No,' continued Napoleon, ' AVellington possesses only a special kind of 
talent. Berthier also had his. In this he perhaps excels, but he has no in- 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 491 

genuity. Fortune lias done more for him than he has done for her. How 
different from Marlborough, of whom he seems to consider himself the rival 
and equal ! Marlborough, while he gained battles, ruled cabinets and guided 
statesmen. Wellington has only shown himself capable of following the 
views and plans of Castlereagh. Madam de Stael said of him that, when out 
of the field of battle, he had not two ideas. The saloons of Paris, so distin- 
guished for dehcacy and correctness of taste, at once decided that Madam de > 
Stael was in the right, and the French plenipotentiary at Vienna confirmed 
that opinion. His victories, their result, and their influence, will rise in his- 
tory, but his name will fall even during his lifetime. ' " 

AUuding to ministries in general, but particularly to collective ministries, 
the intrigues, the great and petty passions that agitate the men who compose 
them, the Emperor said, 

" After all, they are only so many plagues. No one escapes the conta- 
gion. A man may be honest when he enters a ministry, but it seldom hap- 
pens that he retires from one without having forfeited his purity of character. 
I may, perhaps, except only two — mine, and that of the United States. Mine, 
because my ministers were merely my men of business, and I alone stood 
responsible ; and that of the United States, because there ministers are men 
of public credit, always upright, always vigilant, and always rigid. 

" I believe that no sovereign was ever surrounded by more faithful serv- 
ants than I was toward the close of my reign. And if I did not obtain due 
credit for the selection I had made, it was because the French are too apt to 
murmur incessantly. My two great dignitaries, Cambaceres and Lebrun, 
were distinguished men, and perfectly well disposed. Bassano and Caulain- 
court were remarkable for sincerity and rectitude. Mole, whose name reflects 
honor on the French magistracy, is probably destined to act a part in future 
ministries. 

" Montalivet was an honest man. The ministry of Decres was pure and 
rigorous. Gaudin was distinguished for steady and well-directed labor. 
Mollien possessed vast perspicuity and promptitude ; and all my councilors 
of state were prudent and assiduous. All these names will remain insepa- 
rably connected with mine. "What country, what age, ever presented a bet- 
ter-composed or more moral ministry? Happy the nation that possesses such 
instruments, and knows how to turn them to good account ! Though I was 
not given to praise, and though my approbation was in general purely nega- 
tive, yet I nevertheless fully appreciated the value of those who served me, 
and who have everlasting claims on my gratitude. Their number is im- 
mense, and the most modest are not the least meritorious. I shall not at- 
tempt to name them, because many of them would have to complain of being 
omitted, and such omission might appear like ingratitude on my part." 

November 17. The Emperor was quite unwell, and remained in his room 
all day. O'Meara, in conversation, mentioned to the Emperor that he had 
been informed he had saved Marshal Duroc's life during his first campaigns 
in Italy, when seized and condemned to death as an emigrant, which was 
asserted to have been the cause of the great attachment subsequently dis- 
played by Duroc to him until the hour of his deatli. 



492 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXIII. 

Napoleon looked surprised, and replied, " No sueli thing. Who told you 
that tale ? " 

O'Meara replied that he had heard the Marquis Montchenu repeat it at a 
public dinner. 

"There is not a word of truth in it," replied Napoleon. "I took Duroc 
out of the artillery train when he was a hoy, and protected him until his 
death. But I suppose ]\Iontclienu said this because Duroc was of an old 
family, which in that booby's eyes is the only source of merit. He despises 
every body who has not as many hundred years of nobility to boast of as 
himself. It was such as Montchenu who were the chief cause of the Revo- 
lution. Before it, such a man as Bertrand, who is worth an army of Mont- 
chenus, could not even be a sub-lieutenant, while vieux enfans (old children) 
like him would be generals. God help the nation that is governed by such. 
In my time, most of the generals, of whose deeds France is so proud, sprung 
from that very class of plebeians so much despised by him." 

In the evening the Emperor sent for Las Casas. Speaking of the generals 
of the army of Italy, he dwelt particularly on Marmont. 

"I was very strongly attached," said the Emperor, "to Marmont. His 
defection proved a severe wound to my heart. From what I know of him, 
I am sure that he must occasionally suffer deeply from remorse. Never was 
defection more fatal or more decidedly avowed. It was recorded in the Mon- 
iteur, and by his own hand. It was the immediate cause of our disasters, 
/ the grave of our power, the cloud of our glory. And yet," he added, in a 
I tone of affection, " I am convinced that his sentiments are better than his 
reputation. His heart is superior to his conduct. Of this he appears him- 
self to be conscious. The newspapers inform us that, when soliciting vainly 
V for the pardon of Lavalette, he exclaimed, with warmth, in reply to the ob- 
stacles urged ' by the monarch, ' Sire^ have I not given you more than my 
life?'' We were, it is true," continued the Emperor, "betrayed by others, 
and in a manner still more vile ; but no other act of apostasy was so solemn- 
ly recorded by official documents." 

The conversation then turned to Paris, its immense population, and man- 
ners. "The Emperor," says Las Casas, "adverted to the many evils which, 
he said, must inevitably exist in all great capitals, where depravity of ev- 
ery kind is continually stimulated by want, passion, wit, and the facili- 
ties afforded by bustle and confusion. He often repeated that all capitals t> 
were so many Babylons. The Emperor said that he had endeavored to sup- 
press many sources of immorality, and particularly the gaming-houses. He 
questioned me respecting the kind of gaming practiced in Paris. Observing 
that in my replies I always used the plural we, he interrupted me, inquiring, 

" ' Were you yourself a gamester ?' 

" ' Alas ! sire,' I replied, ' I unfortunately was ; only, however, occasional- 
ly, and at long intervals. But still, when the fit seized me, it urged me to 
excess.' 

" 'I am very glad,' said the Emperor, 'that I knew nothing of it at the 
time, otherwise you would have been ruined in my esteem. This circum- 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 493 

stance shows how little we knew of each other, and it also proves that you 
could not have made yourself many enemies, for there were charitable souls 
about me who would have taken care to inform me of your failing. My prej- 
udice against gaming was well known. A gamester was sure to forfeit my 
confidence. I had not leisure to inquire whether I was right or wrong ; but, 
whenever I heard that a man was addicted to gaming, I placed no more re- 
hance in him.' " 

November 19. Under this date Las Casas records the following memora- 
ble and characteristic remarks of the Emperor, made on different occasions. 

Some one was speaking of the pains which the Bourbons had taken to ob- 
literate from all the public monuments the emblems and devices of the Em- 
pire. The Emperor smiled, and said, 

" They may be withdrawn from the public eye, but they can not be erased 
from the page of public history, or from the recollection of connoisseurs and 
artists. I acted differently. I respected all the vestiges of royalty that ex- 
isted when I came into power. I even restored the fietiv de lis, and other 
royal emblems, when chronological correctness required it." 

How does it happen, it was one day asked, that misfortunes which are yet 
uncertain, often distress us more than miseries which have been already suf- 
fered? 

" Because," the Emperor replied, "in the imagination, as in calculation, the 
power of what is unknown is mcoinmenstiToble.'''' 

1 The Emperor had ordered particular attention to be devoted to improving 
and embellishing the markets of the capital. " The market-place," said he, 
"is the Louvre of the common people." 

The great principle of Napoleon's reign was equal rights for all men. All 
conditions and all colors were imder the same impartial law. In speaking 
upon this subject to a councilor of state, he said, 

" I have not reigned all my life. Before I became a sovereign, I recollect 
having been a subject ; and I can never forget how powerfully the sentiment of 
equality influences the mind and animates the heart. Let me charge you to 
respect liberty, and, above all, equality. With regard to liberty, it may be 
proper to restrain it in a case of extremity. Circumstances may demand 
and justify such a step, but Heaven forbid that we should ever infringe upon 
equality. It is the passion of the age, and I wish to continue to be the man 
of the age." 

Speaking of himself one day at St. Helena, the Emperor said, " Nature 
seems to have calculated that I should have to endure great reverses, for she 
has p-iven me a mind of marble. Thunder can not rufEe it. The shaft 

o 

merely glides along." 

On one occasion, in view of some new and intolerable vexation on the part 
of Sir Hudson Lowe, one of the Emperor's suite exclaimed, "Ah! sire, this 
must indeed increase your hatred of the English." The Emperor, shrugging 
his shoulders, said, in mingled tones of pleasantry and reproof, 

"Prejudiced man! say, rather, that at most it may increase my hatred 
of this or that individual Englishman. But, since we are on this subject, let 



494 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXIII. 

me tell you that a man, he who has the true feelings of a man, never cher- 
ishes hatred. His anger or ill-humor never goes beyond the irritation of the 
moment — the electric stroke. He who is formed to discharge high duties, 
and to exercise authority, never considers persons. His views are directed 
to things, their weight and consequences." 

On another occasion, in serious and earnest utterance, he said, " I can not 
doubt but that my character will gain in proportion as it advances in pos- 
terity. Future historians will conceive themselves bound to avenge the in- 
justice of contemporaries. Excess is always succeeded by reaction. Besides, 
I am of opinion that, when viewed from a distance, my character will appear 
in a more favorable light, by being relieved from many useless incumbrances. 
I shall hereafter be judged by general views, and not by petty details. Ev- 
ery thing will be in harmony, and all local irregularities will disappear. ] 
can now, as hereafter, proudly submit every act of my private life to the most 
rigid scrutiny, confident that the severest judges will pronounce me free from 
crime." 

Speaking of his high regard for the Germans, he said, " I levied many 
millions of imposts upon them, it is true. That was necessary. But I 
should never have insulted them, or treated them with contempt. I esteem- 
ed the Germans. They may hate me ; that is natural enough. I was forced 
for ten years to fight over the dead bodies of their countrymen. They could 
not know my real designs, or give me credit for my ultimate intentions, which 
were calculated to render Germany a great nation." 

One day mention was made of an individual who, though distinguished 
for his abilities, was rude and upolished in his language and manners. The 
Emperor remarked, 

" The fault is in his early education. His swaddling-clothes have been 
neither fine nor clean.'''' 

Speaking of the discontent wliich the incessant wars of the Empire occa- 
sionally incited in Paris, the Emperor said, "What did they expect me to 
do, after all I had accomplished ?" 

" Sire," Las Casas replied, "it was wished that your majesty Avould stop 
your horse." 

" Stop my horse !" resumed Napoleon. " That was easily said. My arm 
was strong enough, it is true, to stop, with a single check, all the horses of 
the Continent, but I could not bridle the English fleet. There lay all the 
mischief. Had not the people sense enough to see this ?" 

In allusion to the nobility which he had created, he said, " I regret that 
this was so ill understood. It was one of my grandest and happiest ideas. 
I had in view three objects of the highest importance. 1. To reconcile 
France with Europe, and to restore harmony by seeming to adopt European 
customs. 2. By the same means to bring about a complete reconciliation 
and union between old and new France. 3. To banish feudal nobility, the 
only kind which is offensive, oppressive, and unnatural. 

" By my plan, I should soon have succeeded in instituting positive and 
meritorious qualities for antiquated and odious prejudices. My national ti- 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 495 

ties would have exactly restored that equality "vvhich feudal nobility pro- 
scribed. They were conferred as the reward of merit of every kind. For 
genealogical parchments I substituted noble actions ; and for private interests, 
the interests of the country. Family pride would no longer have been found- 
ed on obscure and imaginary circumstances, but would have rested on the no- "^ 
blest pages of our history. Finally, I would have banished the odious pre- ■' 
tension of blood — an absurd idea — a theory which has no real existence. 
We all know very well that there is but one race of men, and that one is not 
born with boots on his legs, and another with a pack-saddle on his back." 

In conversation with Count Montholon, the Emperor, in the following lan- 
guage, more fully developed his plans in the establishment of an hereditary 
nobility. It is very difficult accurately to record conversation. With the 
most honest intentions, the Emperor was sometimes misunderstood, and sen- 
timents were recorded which he would have modified. His general idea, how- 
ever, in the admission of an order of nobles with titles, but with no exclusive 
privileges, is here made perfectly plain. 

"My object was to destroy the whole feudal system, as organized by 
Charlemagne. With this view, I created a nobility fcom among the people, 
in order to swallow up the remains of the feudal nobility. The foundations 
of my ideas of fitness were abilities and personal worth, and I selected the 
son of a farmer or an artisan to make a duke or a marshal of France. I 
sought for true merit among all ranks of the gi'eat mass of the French peo- 
ple, and was anxious to organize a true and general system of equality. I 
was desirous that every Frenchman should be admissible to all the employ- 
ments and dignities of the state, provided he was possessed of talents and 
character equal to the performance of the duties, whatever might be his fam- 
ily. In a word, I was eager to abolish, to the last trace, the privileges of the * 
ancient nobility, and to establish a government which, at the same time that 
it held the reins of government with a firm hand, should still be a popular 
government. The oligarchs of every country in Europe soon perceived mv 
design, and it was for this reason that war to the death was carried on against 
me by England. The noble families of London, as well as those of Vienna, 
think tliemselves prescriptively entitled to the occupation of all the impor- 
tant offices in the state, and the management and handling of the public mon- 
ey. Their birth is regarded by them as a substitute for talents and capaci- 
ties ; and it is enough for ^ man to be the son of his father to be fit to ftilfill 
the duties of the most important employments and highest dignities of the 
state. They are somewhat like kings by divine right ; the people are in their 
eyes merely milch cows, about whose real interests they feel no concern, pro- 
vided the treasury is always full, and the crown resplendent with jewels. 
^ "In short, in establishing an hereditary nobility, I had three objects in view : 

"1st. To reconcile France with the rest of Europe. 

" 2d. To reconcile old with new France. 

" 3d. To put an end to all feudal institutions in Europe by reconnect- 
ing the idea of nobility with that of public services, and detaching it from all 
prescriptive or feudal notions. 



496 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXIII. 

" The whole of Europe was governed hj nobles who were strongly op- 
posed to the progress of the French Kevolution, and who exercised an influ- 
ence which proved a serious obstacle to the development of French princi- 
ples. It was necessary to destroy this influence, and with that view to 
clothe the principal personages of the Empire with titles equal to theirs. 
The success was complete. From that time forward the nobility of Europe 
ceased to be opposed to France, and with secret joy witnessed the creation 
of a new nobility, which appeared inferior to the ancient merely because it 
was new. They did not foresee the consequences of the French system, 
which tended to depreciate and uproot the feudal nobility, or at least to com- 
pel its members to reconstitute themselves by a new title. 

" The ancient nobility of France, on their restoration to their country and 
to a part of their estates, eagerly resumed all their titles ; and, although not 
legally, yet in fact, considered themselves more than ever as a privileged class. 
Every attempt at fusion or amalgamation with the chiefs of the Revolution 
was attended with difficulties, which were at once completely removed by the 
creation of new titles. There were none of the ancient families wliicli did 
not willingly form alliances with the new dukes ; in fact, the Noailles, Cor- 
belts, Louvois, and Fleurys, were new houses, creations of Louis XIV. and 
Louis XV. From their origin, the most ancient houses in France sought for 
their alliance, and in this way the families of the Revolution were consoli- 
dated, and old and new France reunited. It was particularly with this view 
that I conferred the first title on ]\Iarshal Lefebvre. The marshal had been 
a common soldier, and every one in Paris had known him as a sergeant in 
the French Guards. 

" My plan was to reconstruct the ancient nobility of France. Every fam- 
ily which reckoned among the number of its ancestors a cardinal, a great 
officer of the crown, a marshal of France, chancellor, keeper of the seals, min- 
ister, &c., was entitled on that account to sue for the title of duke. You, 
Montholon, for example, would have been a duke, because you were descend- 
ed from chancellors and keepers of the great seal of France. Every family 
which had had an archbishop, embassador, chief president, lieutenant general, 
or vice admiral, the title of count ; every family which had had a bishop, 
major general, rear admiral, councilor of state, or president of Parliament, the 
title of baron. These titles would not have been encumbered with any other 
charge than an obligation on the part of the claimants to provide a fixed in- 
come for the eldest son, of $25,000 for a duke, 6000 for a count, and 2000 
for a baron. This principle was to form a rale for the past and the present, 
and intended also as a standard for the future. From this plan there sprung 
up an historical nobility, which united the past, the present, and the future ; 
and was founded, not upon any distinctions of blood, which constitute an im- 
aginary nobility, inasmuch as there is only one race of men, but upon serv- 
ices done to the state. In the same manner, therefore, the son of a peasant 
might say to himself, ' I shall one day be a cardinal, marshal of France, or 
minister ;' so might he on this principle say, ' I shall one day be a duke, 
count, or baron,' as he may now say, ' I shall foUoAV commerce, and gain 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 497 

millions for mj family.' A Montmorency would have been made a duke,, 
not because he was a Montmorency, but because one of his ancestors had 
been constable of France, and rendered important services to the state. This 
changed the whole nature of the nobility, which had been hitherto feudal, 
and established on its ruins an historical nobility, founded upon the claims 
of its possessors to the love of their country or the respect of their sovereign. 
This idea, like that of the Legion of Honor, and the University, was in itself, 
eminently liberal, well calculated, at the time, to consolidate social order and 
to annihilate the pride of the nobility. It at once destroyed the pretensions 
of the oligarchy, and maintained in all their integrity the dignity and legal 
rights of mankind. It was a creation, organizing a liberal idea, and com- 
pletely characteristic of the new age. I never had recourse to precipitation 
in the execution of any of my projects, always believing I had time before 
me. I often said to my Council of State that I required twenty years for 
the accomplishment of my plans, but I have only had fifteen." 

November 20. " It must be admitted, my dear Las Casas," said the Em- 
peror, "it is most difficult to obtain certainties for the purposes of history. 
Fortunately, it is, in general, more a matter of mere curiosity than of real im- 
portance. There are so many kinds of truths ! The truth which Fouche, 
or other intriguers of his stamp, will tell, for instance — -even that which many 
very honest people may tell, will, in some cases, differ essentially from the 
truth which I may relate. The truth of history, so much sought for, to 
which every body eagerly appeals, is too often but an idle tale. At the time 
of the events, during the heat of conflicting passions, it can not exist ; and 
if, at a later period, all parties are agreed respecting it, it is because those 
persons who were interested in the events, those who might be able to con- 
tradict what is asserted, are no more. What then is, generally speaking, the 
truth of history ? A fable agreed upon. As it has been very ingeniously 
remarked, there are in these matters two essential points, very distinct from 
each other: the positive facts, and the moral intentions. With respect to 
the positive facts, it would seem that they ought to be incontrovertible. Yet 
you will not find two accounts agree together in relating the same facts. 
Some have remained contested points to this day, and will ever remain so. 
With regard to moral intentions, how shall we judge of them, even admitting 
the candor of those who relate events ? 

"And what will be the case if the narrators be not sincere, or if they 
should be actuated by interest or passions ? I have given an order, but who 
was able to read my thoughts, my real intentions ? Yet every one will take 
up that order, and measure it according to his own scale, or adapt it to his 
own plans or system. See the different colorings that will be given to it by 
the intriguer whose plan it disturbs or favors. See how he will distort it. 
The man who assumes importance, to whom the minister or the sovereign 
may have hinted something in confidence on the subject, will do the same 
thing, as will the numerous idlers of the palace, who, having nothing better 
to do than to listen under the windows, invent when they have not heard. 
And each person will be so certain of what he tells ! and the inferior classes,, 

Ii 



498 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXIII. 

who will have received their information from these privileged individuals, 
will be so certain, in their turn, of its correctness ! And then, memoirs are 
digested, memoranda are written, witticisms and anecdotes are circulated, and 
of such materials history is composed ! 

" I have seen the plan of my own battle, the intention of my own orders, 
disputed with me, and opinion decide against me I Is not tliat the creature 
giving the lie to its creator? Nevertheless, my opponent, who contradicts 
me, will have his adherents. This it is which has prevented me from writ- 
ing my own private memoirs, from disclosing my individual feelings, which 
would naturally have exhibited the shades of my private character. I could 
not condescend to write confessions after the maimer of Jean Jacques Rous- 
seau, which every body might have attacked, and therefore I have thought 
proper to confine the subjects of my dictations here to public acts. I am 
aware that even these relations may be contested ; for where is the man in this 
world, whatever be his right, and the strength and power of that right, who 
may not be attacked and contradicted by an adverse party ? But in the eyes 
of men who are wise and impartial, of those who reflect and are reasonable, 
my voice Avill have as much power as another's, and I have little dread of 
the final decision. So much light has been diffused in our day, that I rely 
upon the splendor tha* will remain after passions shall have subsided and 
clouds have passed away. But, in the mean time, how many errors Avill 
arise I People will often give me credit for a great deal of depth and sagac- 
ity on occasions which were, perhaps, most simple in themselves. I shall 
be suspected of plans which I never formed. It will be inquired whether I 
did or did not aspire to universal dominion. The question will be argued 
at length. Whether my arbitrary sway and my arbitrary acts were the result 
of my character or of my calculations ? whether they were determined by 
my own inclination or by the force of circumstances ? whether I was led into 
the wars in which I was engaged by my own taste or against my will ? 
whether my insatiable ambition, which has been so much deprecated, was 
kindled by the thirst for dominion and glory, or by my love of order and my 
concern for the general welfare ? for that ambition will deserve to be consid- 
ered under all those different aspects. 

" People will canvass the motives which guided me in the catastrophe of 
the Duke d'Enghien, and so on with respect to many other events. Some- 
times they will distort what was perfectly straight, and refine what was quite 
natural. It was not for me to treat upon all those subjects here. It would 
have appeared as if I were pleading my cause, and that I disdain to do. If 
the rectitude and the sagacity of liistorians can enable them to form, from 
what I have dictated on general matters, a correct opinion and just notions 
respecting those things which I have not mentioned, so much the better. 
But along with the faint ray thus afforded, how many false lights will appear 
to them from the fables and falsehoods of the great intriguers (who all had 
their views, their plots, their private negotiations, wdiich. being mixed up with 
the main objects, tend to render tlie whole an inextricable chaos), to the dis- 
closures, the portfolios^ and even the assertions of my ministers, who, with 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 499 

the best intentions, will have to state, not so much what really existed, as 
what they believe to have existed ; for which of them ever possessed the en- 
tire general conception of my mind ? Their share of it was, most frequently, 
one of the elements of a great whole, which they did not know. They will, 
therefore, only have seen that side of the prism which concerned themselves, 
and even then, how will they have seen it ? Did it reach them entire ? Was 
it not already broken ? 

"And yet probably every one of them, judging from what he has seen, 
will give the fantastical result of his own combinations as my true system. 
And here, again, we have the admitted fable which will be called history. 
Nor can it be otherwise. It is true that, as there are many, they will be 
far from agreeing together. However, in their positive assertions they would 
liave the advantage over me, for I should very frequently have found it most 
difficult to affirm confidently what had been my whole idea on any given 
subject. It is avcU known that I did not strive to subject circumstances to 
my ideas, but that, in general, I suffered myself to be led by them. And 
who can calculate beforehand the chances of accidental circumstances or un- 
expected events ? I have, therefore, often found it necessary to alter essen- 
tially my plan of proceeding, and have acted through life upon general _^rm- 
cifples rather than according to fixed j9Z(2;25. The mass of the general inter- 
ests of mankind, what I considered to be the advantage of the greater num- 
ber, such were the anchors on which I relied, but around which I most fre- 
'quently floated at the caprice of chance." 

In conversation upon the conspiracy of Georges and Pichegru, and the 
trial of the Duke d'Enghien, the Emperor remarked ; 

"War had some time since recommenced with England, when suddenly 
our coasts, our high roads, and the capital, were inundated with agents from 
the Bourbons. A great number of them were arrested, but their plans could 
not yet be discovered. They were of all ranks and descriptions. All the 
passions were roused. The agitation of the pubHc became extreme. A 
storm was gathering. The crisis assumed the most alarming aspect. The 
agents of the police had exhausted all their means without being able to ob- 
tain any information. My own sagacity saved me. Having risen, on one 
occasion, in the night, to work, as I used fi*equently to do, chance, which gov- 
erns the world, directed my eyes to one of the last reports of the police, con- 
taining the names of those persons who had already been arrested in conse- 
quence of this affair, to which no clue had yet been obtained. Among those 
names I observed that of a surgeon in the army. I immediately concluded 
that such a man must be an intriguer rather than a devoted fanatic, and I 
ordered every measure likely to extort a prompt confession to be immediate- 
ly resorted to against him. The affair was immediately placed in the hands 
of a military commission. In the morning he was sentenced, and threaten- 
ed with immediate execution if he did not speak. Half an hour afterward 
he had disclosed every thing, even to the most minute details. The nature 
and extent of the plot, which had been got up in London, was then known, 
and the intrigues of Moreau, and the presence of Pichegru in Paris, were dis- 
covered soon after." 



500 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXIII. 

With respect to tlie accusation relative to the death of Pichegru, wlio was 
said to have been strangled by order of tlie First Consul, Napoleon said that 
it was too absurd, and that it would be degrading to attempt to repel it. 

"What advantage," asked he, "could accrue to me from his death? A 
man of my stamp does not act without some powerful motive. Have I ever 
been known to shed blood through caprice ? Notwithstanding all the efforts 
that have been made to blacken my reputation and misrepresent my charac- 
ter, those who know me know that crime is foreign to my nature. There is 
not a private act that has occurred during the whole course of my adminis- 
tration of which I might not speak openly before a tribunal, not only without 
any disadvantage, but even with some credit to myself. The fact is, that 
Pichegru found himself placed in a hopeless situation. His higli mind could 
not bear to contemplate the infamy of a public execution. He despaired of 
my clemency, or disdained to appeal to it, and put an end to his existence. 

"Had I been disposed to crime," continued the Emperor, "it is not 
against Pichegru, who could do no harm, that I should have leveled the blow, 
but at Moreau, who had at that moment placed me in a most perilous situ- 
ation. If the latter had unfortunately also killed himself while in prison, 
my justification would have been rendered much more difficult, on account 
of the great advantage it would have been to me to get rid of him. Those 
Frenchmen who were abroad, and the ultra-Royalists who were in France, 
have never known the true state of public opinion in France. Pichegru, hav- 
ing been once immaskcd, and exposed as a traitor to the nation, no longer 
excited sympathy in any breast. This feeling went so far, that the circum- 
stance of his being connected with Moreau was sufficient to effiict the ruin 
of the latter, who saw himself abandoned by many of his adherents ; for in 
the struggle of parties, the majority of the people cared more about the com- 
monwealth than about individuals. 

" I judged so correctly in this business, that when Heal came to propose 
to me to arrest Moreau, I rejected the proposal without hesitation. Moreau 
is a man of too much importance, said I to him ; he is too directly opposed 
to me ; I have too great an interest in getting rid of him to expose myself 
thus to the conjectures of public opinion. But, replied Real, if Moreau con- 
spires with Pichegru ? The case is then different ; prove that to me, show 
me that Pichegru is in Paris, and I will instantly sign the order for the ap- 
prehension of Moreau. Real had received indirect information of Pichegru 's 
arrival, but had not yet been able to trace his steps. Hasten to his brother's, 
said I ; if he has left his residence, it will be a strong indication that Piche- 
gru is in Paris. If he is still in his lodgings, an'cst him ; his surprise will 
soon inform you of the tmth. This brother had been a monk, and lived on 
a fourth floor in Paris. As soon as he found himself arrested, he asked, be- 
fore any question was put to him, what fault he had committed, and whether 
it was imputed to him as a crime that he had received against his will a 
visit from his brother. He had been tlie first, he said, to represent to him 
the peril of his situation, and to advise him to go away again. 

" This was quite enough. Moreau's arrest was ordered and carried into 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 50] 

effect. Moreau appeared, at first, to be under no apprehension ; but when he 
found, after he had been taken to prison, that he was arrested for having con- 
spired, together with Pichegru and Georges, against tlie state, he was quite 
disconcerted and extremely agitated. As for the greater number of those 
who composed that party, the name of Pichegru seemed to them a t'iiumph. 
They exclaimed on all sides that Pichegru was in London, and that in a few 
days this would be proved, for they either did not know that he was in Paris, 
or beheved that it would be easy for him to escape thence. In the midst 
of this affair that of t]ie Duke d'Enghien happened, and rendered the whole 
a strange complication." 

The Emperor used to consider this last affair under two distinct aspects : 
with reference to the common law or the established rules of justice, and with 
reference to the law of nature or acts of violence. In the presence of stran- 
gers, he adopted a line of argument founded almost exclusively on the law of 
nature and state politics. 

" If I had not had in my favor the laws of the country to punish the crim- 
inal, I should still have had the right of the law of nature, of legitimate self- 
defense. The duke and his party had constantly but one object in view, 
that of taking away my life. I was assailed on all sides and at every in- 
stant. Air-guns, infernal machines, plots, ambuscades of every kind, were 
resorted to for that purpose. At last I grew weary, and took an opportu- 
nity of striking them with terror in their turn in London. I succeeded, and 
from that moment there was an end of conspiracies. Who can blame me for 
having acted so ? What ! blows threatening my existence are aimed at me 
day after day, from a distance of one hundred and fifty leagues ! no poAver 
on earth, no tribunal, can afford me redress, and I shall not be allowed to use 
the right of nature, and return war for war! What man, unbiased by party 
feeling, possessing the smallest share of judgment and justice, can take upon 
himself to condemn me ? On what side will he not throw blame, odium, and 
criminal accusations ? Blood for blood ! such is the natural, inevitable, and 
infallible law of retaliation : woe to him who provokes it ! Those who fo- 
ment civil dissensions or excite political commotions expose themselves to 
become the victims of them. 

" It would be a proof of imbecility or madness to imagine and pretend that 
a whole family should have the strange privilege to threaten my existence 
day after day, without giving -me the right of retaliation. They could not 
reasonably pretend to be above the law to destroy others, and claim the ben- 
efit of it for their own preservation. The chances must be equal. I had 
never personally offended any of them. A great nation had chosen me to 
govern them. Almost all Europe had sanctioned their choice. My blood, 
after all, was not ditch water. It was time to place it on a par with theirs. 
And what if I had carried retaliation further ? I mio-ht have done it. The 
disposal of their destiny, the heads of every one of them, from the highest to 
the lowest, were more than once offered to me, but I rejected the offer with 
indignation. Not that I thought it would be unjust for me to consent to it, 
in the situation to which they had reduced me, but I felt myself so powerful, 



502 NAPOLEON AT ^T. HELExNA. [ChAP. XXXIV. 

I thought myself so secure, that I should have considered it a base and gra- 
tuitous act of cowardice. JMj great maxim has always been, that, in war as 
well as in politics, every evil action, even if legal, can only be excused in 
case of absolute necessity. Whatever goes beyond that is criminal. 

" It would have been ridiculous in those who violated so openly the law 
of nations to appeal to it themselves. The violation of the territory of Baden, 
of which so much has been said, is entirely foreign to the main point in ques- 
tion. The law of the inviolability of territory has not been devised for the 
benefit of the guilty, but merely for the protection of the independence of na- 
tions and the dignity of the sovereign. It was therefore for the Duke of 
Baden, and for him alone, to complain, and he did not. He yielded, no 
doubt, to violence, and to the sentiment of his political inferiority. But even 
then, what has that to do with the merits of the plots and outrages which 1 
had to complain of, and of which I had every right to be revenged ? The 
real authors of the dreadful catastrophe, the persons who alone were respon- 
sible for it, were those who had favored and excited from abroad the plots 
formed against the life of the First Consul." 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

1816, November. Continued. 



Secret Visit from the Servant of Las Casas — Arrest of Las Casas — His Lnprisonment — Indigna- 
tion of the Emperor — Fainting-fit of O'Meara. 

November 21-24. The servant whom Sir Hudson Lowe had taken from 
Las Casas obtained a situation with a person who was about to sail for Lon- 
don. Favored by the darkness of the night, and his knowledge of the local- 
ities of the island, he scaled precipices and avoided sentinels, and at midnight 
succeeded in entering the room of his former master. He offered to secrete 
about his person, and take to Europe, any comnmnication which Las Casas 
might intrust to him. After a short interview the servant left, in the dark- 
ness, promising to call again. 

Las Casas records, " The next day I immediately communicated my good 
fortune to the Emperor, who appeared much pleased at the intelligence. I 
strenuously urged that we had already been here above a year without hav- 
ing taken one single step toward the prospect of better days. We were lost 
in the universe. Europe was ignorant of our real situation. It behooved us 
to make it known. Hay after day the newspapers showed us the veil of im- 
posture which had been thrown over us, and the impudent and disgusting 
falsehoods of which we were the object. It was for us, I urged, to publish 
the truth. It would find its way to the ears of the sovereigns, to whom it 
was perfectly unknown. It would become known to the people, whose sym- 
pathy would be our consolation, and whose indignation would at least re- 
venge us upon our cruel persecutors. We immediately began to search 
among our records. The Emperor portioned them out, pointing out the 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 503 

share which each of lis was to take, in order to transcribe them with greater 
dispatch. The day, however, passed without any thing being done on the 
subject. 

" The next day, as soon as I saw the Emperor, I took the liberty of re- 
minding him of our plans of the preceding day ; but he now appeared to ^ 
think less of the matter, and ended the conversation by saying, ' We must 
see.' This day passed like the preceding. I was on thorns. At night, as 
if to add to my impatience, my servant came again, and renewed the unre- 
served offer of his services. He left, promising that he would call the day 
after the next, which would be the eve of his sailing. The next day, as soon 
as I saw the Emperor, I communicated to him what I had heard from the 
servant, dwelling upon the circumstance of our having only twenty-four hours 
more ; but the Emperor, with the utmost indifference, turned the conversa- 
tion to some other topic. I was struck with surprise. I knew the Emper- 
or's disposition, and I was perfectly satisfied that the indifference, the sort of 
absence of mind which he manifested at this moment, could not be the effect 
of chance, still less the result of caprice. But what, then, could his motives 
be ? This idea haunted my mind the whole day, and rendered me melan- 
choly and miserable. At night, the same sentiment which had agitated ray 
breast during the day prevented me from sleeping. I painfully recalled 
every circumstance connected with this affair, when suddenly a new light 
broke in upon me. 

" What do I require of the Emperor, thought I ? that he should stoop to 
the execution of trifling details too much beneath him ! No doubt disgust 
and secret dissatisfaction have occasioned the silence which has caused my 
uneasiness. Ought we to be useless to him ? Can we not serve him with- 
out afflicting him ? And then several of his former observations came across 
my mind. Had I not informed him of the affair? Had he not approved of 
it ? What more could I expect ? Henceforth it was for me to act, and I 
made up my mind in one instant. I resolved to proceed in the business 
without mentioning another word to him on the subject ; and, in order that 
it might remain more secret, I determined to keep it entirely to myself." 

Las Casas accordingly wrote a long letter to Napoleon's brother Lucien, 
giving a minute, but perfectly truthful and unexaggerated account of the Em- 
peror's history since he left France, and of his situation and sufferings. The 
letter was intended for the mother, brothers, and sisters of Napoleon, that they 
might know the true condition of the beloved captive, and that they might 
exert their influence to mitigate his woes. It was a noble letter, and highly 
honorable to the head and the heart of the writer. Prince Lucien, with the 
mother of Napoleon, and most of the other members of the family, were at 
Rome. Las Casas accordingly inclosed his letter in an envelope addressed 
to a friend in England, Lady Clavering, to be forwarded hj her to its des- 
tination. The servant called ; the letters were sewed into the lining of his 
clothes, and he took his departure from Longwood. It was midnight. Las 
Casas went to bed with a light heart. 

JVovember 25. At four o'clock in the afternoon the Emperor sent for Las 



504 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. XXXIY. 



Casas. " I have been busy with General Bertrand," said he, " all day upon 
the subject of fortifications, and the day has appeared to me very short." 
They walked out to the tent. Five oranges, with a knife and some sugar, 
were brouglit on a plate. They were a present from Lady Malcolm, Avho 
had kindly sent them to the Emperor from the Cape. The Emperor re- 
quested Las Casas to put one of the oranges into his pocket for his son. 
Seated on the trunk of a tree, he cut the others into slices, and with his own 
hand distributed them to Las Casas and to another gentleman of his suite who 
was present. The wind blew up cold, and the Emperor returned with his 
companions to his chamber. As he was pacing the floor, engaged in social 
conversation, his attention was suddenly an-ested by the appearance of the 
governor, with a numerous staff, approaching Longwood. The Emperor look- 
ed from the window to observe their approach. In a few moments, word 
was brouo-lit tliat the g-overnor wished to see Las Casas. 

" Go, my dear friend," said the Emperor, " and see what that animal wants 
of you, and come hack soon.^'' 




THE OOVF.UNOK AND HIS AIDS. 



" These," says Las Casas, " were for me the last words of Napoh 



leon. 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



505 



Alas ! I have never seen liim since. But his accent, the tone of his voice, 
still sound in my ears. How often since have I taken delight in allowing 
my imagination to dwell upon them ! and wliat mingled sensations of pleas- 
ure and regret may be produced by a painful recollection!" 

It seems that the servant had revealed his secret to his father, and his fa- 
ther had betrayed Las Casas to the governor. As Las Casas entered his 
room, he and his son were immediately arrested by Sir Thomas Reade. His 
room was guarded by dragoons. He was not permitted to bid adieu to the 
Emperor, but, with his son, was immediately hurried away from Longwood. 
"We were both of us," says. Las Casas, " shut up in a wretched hovel. I 
was obliged to sleep on a miserable pallet, and to make room for my poor 
son by my side, lest he should have to lie on the floor. I considered his life 
to be at this moment in danger. He was threatened with an aneurism, and 
had been on the point of expiring in my arms a few days before. We were 
kept until eleven o'clock without food ; and when, in order to supply the 
wants of my son, I went to the door, and to each of the windows, to ask the 
men who guarded them for a morsel of bread, they answered me only by pre- 
senting their bayonets." 







ARREST OF LAS CASAS. 



As Dr. O'Meara was riding to Longwood from town, he met the governor. 
Sir Hudson called out to him immediately with a triumphant air, " You wiU 
meet your friend Las Casas in custody." In a few moments the doctor met 
the count, conducted by two dragoons. The Emperor, firom his window, had 
noticed most of these proceedings. 



506 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXIY. 

November 26. Las Casas was kept in close confinement in Lis room. His 
friends earnestly, but vainly, solicited permission to visit him in his prison. 
As a demonstration of respect and kindness, they came Avithin sight of the 
hut where he was guarded, and made signs to him of sympathy. All his 
private papers Avere seized and examined, and all the valuable dictations of 
the Emperor, w4iich Avere in Las Casas's possession. Napoleon was heavily 
afflicted. He sympathized deeply Avitli his friend in sufferings, and also 
greatly deplored his own loss in being deprived of so congenial a compan- 
ion. The Emperor, thus suddenly bereaved, concealed his grief in the soli- 
tude of his chamber. To O'jMeara, aa'Iio soon entered his apartments, the 
Emperor said, 

"I am indeed gricA'ed to lose him. Las Casas is the only one of the 
French Avho can speak English aa'cII, or Avho can explain it to my satisfac- 
tion. I can not now read the English newspapers. Las Casas Avas neces- 
sary to me. Ask the admiral to interest himself for that poor man. He Avill 
die under these afflictions, for he has no bodily strength, and his unfortunate 
son Avill finish his existence a little before him." 

November 21. Las Casas and his son still remained in their solitary and 
wretched prison, secluded from all intercourse Avith LongAvood and its unhap- 
py inmates. The Emperor still remained a silent mourner in his room, en- 
during with dignity these tremendous bloAvs of adverse fortune. O'Meara 
visited his illustrious patient. He found him deeply distressed about the 
treatment AA'hich Las Casas suffered, and the detention of his OAvn papers. 

" If there had been any plot in Las Casas's letter," said the Emperor, " the 
governor could have pei'ceived it in ten minutes' perusal. In a fcAV moments 
he could also see that the Campaigns of Italy contained nothing treasonable. 
It is contrary to all law to detain papers belonging to me. Perhaps he will 
come up here some day and say that he has received intimation that a plot 
to effect my escape is in agitation. What guarantee have I, that Avhen I 
have nearly finished my history, he Avill not seize the Avhole of it ? It is true 
that I can keep my manuscripts in my OAvn room, and AvIth a couple of brace 
of pistols I can dispatch the first aa'Iio enters. I must burn the Avhole of 
Avhat I have Avritten. It served as an amusement to me in this dismal abode, 
and might, perhaps, have been interesting to the Avorld ; but AA'ith this Sicil- 
ian constable there is no guarantee nor security. He violates every laAV, 
and tramples under foot decency, politeness, and the common forms of soci- 
ety, lie came up Avith a savage joy beaming from his eyes because he had 
an opportunity of insulting and tormenting us. While surrounding the 
house with his staff, he reminded me of the savages of the South Sea Islands 
dancing round the prisoners Avhom they Avere going to devour. Tell him," 
continued he, " Avhat I said about his conduct." 

For fear that O'Meara should forget, he repeated his expressions about the 
savages a second time, and made the doctor repeat it after him. 

November 28. To-day Las Casas and his son AA'ere removed to a wretched 
hovel situated but a short distance from Longwood, but separated from it by 
precipitous crags and wild ravines Avhich Avere almost impassable. A de- 



1816, November.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 507 

tacliment of soldiers kept guard over them, while numerous sentinels watched 
all the approaches to their prison. 

"All communications were strictly intercepted," sajs Las Casas ; "we 
were placed in a state of tlie most absolute seclusion. On the summit of the 
hills which surrounded the hollow in which our house was situated there was 
a road on which we saw to-day General Gourgaud, accompanied by an En- 
glish officer. We could observe his efforts to come as near to us as possible, 
and we received with feelings of joy and affection the signs and demonstra- 
tions of friendship which our companion addressed to us from that distance, 
and returned ours to him in the same manner. The kind and excellent Mad- 
am Bertrand sent us again some oranges. We were not allowed to write her 
to thank her, and were obliged to confine the expression of our gratitude to 
sending her some roses which we gathered in our prison." 

November 29. The governor had seized Las Casas's journal, with his other 
papers, and had read with chagrin the record of his own doings. He knew 
that this memorial was intended for eventual publication, and he was greatly 
annoyed. As he eagerly examined it, in the presence of Las Casas, turning- 
over the pages to see every thing which was said respecting himself, Las 
Casas said to him, 

" If you find it often necessary to use forbearance, it is not my fault, but 
the fault of your own indiscretion. My journal is not yet known to any 
body. The Emperor himself has only read the first pages of it. You can, 
of course, do as you please about proceeding farther, but I protest against the 
abuse of authority which you will thus exercise." 

The governor respected this protest, and the journal was sealed up. 




EXAMINING THE PAPERS OF LAS CASAS. 



The Emperor, hearing that the joui*nal of Las Casas had been seized and 
examined by the governor, was curious to know what kind of record Las 
Casas had made of their prison life. He sent, accordingly, for one of the 
household, St. Denis, who had made a careful copy of the journal, and asked 
him the nature of it. 



508 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXIV. 

"It is," said St. Denis, "a joutnal of every thing remarkable that has 
taken place since tlie embarkation on board the Bellerojjhon, and contains 
diverse anecdotes of Sir George Cockburn and many other persons." 

"How is Sir George Cockburn treated?" inquired the Emperor* 

" So so," was the reply. 

" Is it said that I called him a shark ?" 

"Yes, sire." 

" What is said of Sir George Bhigham and General Wilkes ?" 

"They are very Avell spoken of." 

" Is any thing said about Admiral Malcolm ? Does it say that I observed, 
' Behold the countenance of a real Eno-Hshman ?' " 

" Yes, sire ; he is very well treated." 

"Is any thing said about the governor?" 

" Yes, sire," replied St. Denis, smiling, " a great deal." 

"Does it s.ay that I said, 'He is an ignoble man, and that his face was 
the most ignoble I had ever seen ?' " 

" It does, sire," said St. Denis, " but the expressions are frequently ■mod- 
erated.^'' 

" Is the anecdote of the coffee-cup related ?" 

"I do not recollect it," was the reply. 

" Is it said that I called him a Sicilian constable? {shirre Sicilien.y^ 

"Yes, sire." 

"That's his name {c'est son 770111),'^'' said the Emperor. 

Shortly after, the Emperor had an interview with Dr. O'Meara. He said, 

" This governor, if he had any delicacy, would not have continued to read 
a work in which his conduct was depicted in its tl^ue light. He must have 
been little satisfied with the comparisons made between Cockburn and him. 
especially Avherc it is mentioned that I said the admiral was rough, but in- 
capable of a mean action, but that his successor was capable of every thing 
that was oppressive and contemptible. I am glad, however, that he has read 
it, because he will see the real opinion that we have of him." 

"While he was speaking," says O'Meara, "my vision became indistinct, 
every thing appeared to swim before my eyes, and I fell upon the floor in a 
fainting-fit.* Wlien I recovered my senses and opened my eyes, the first 
object Avhicli presented itself to my view I shall never forget : it was the 
countenance of Napoleon bending over my face, and regarding me with an 
expi-ession of great concern and anxiety. With one hand he was opening 
my shirt collar, and with the other holding a bottle de vinaigre des quatre 
voleurs to my nostrils. He had taken off my cravat, and dashed the con- 
tents of a bottle of eau de Cologne over my face. 

" 'When I saw you fall,' said he, ' I at first thought that your foot had 
slipped ; but 'seeing you remain without motion, I apprehended that it was a 
fit of apoplexy ; observing, however, that your flice was the color of death, 

* O'Meara was quite unwell, and had been, that morninjr, profusely bled by Dr M'Lean, of the 
53d regiment, in consequence of aggravated symptoms of a liver complaint, a disease extremely 
prevalent in the island. 



1816, December.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 509 

your lips wliite and without motion, and no evident respiration or bloated 
countenance, I concluded directly that it was a fit of syncope, or that your 
soul had departed.' 

" Marchand now came into the room, whom he ordered to give me some 
orange-flower water, which was a favorite remedy of his. When he saw me 
fall, in his haste he broke the bell-ribbon. He told me that he had lifted me 
up, placed me in a chair, torn off my cravat, dashed some eau de Cologne 
and water over my face, &c., and asked if he had done right. I informed 
him that he had done every thing proper, and as a surgeon would have done 
under similar circumstances, except that, instead of allowing me to remain 
in a recumbent posture, he had placed me in a chair. When I was leaving 
the room, I heard him tell Marchand, in an under voice, to follow me, for fear 
I should again faint." 



CHAPTER XXXV. 
1816, December. 

Decision of Las Casas to return to Europe — Remarks of the Emperor upon the Conduct of the 
Governor — Remarks on Moreau, Desaix, Massena — Message to the Emperor from the Governor 
— Indignant Remarks of the Emperor — Character of Alexander — The Expedition to Copenhagen 
— The Call from Lady Lowe — Continued Imprisonment of Las Casas — Political Blunders of 
Lord Castlereagh — The Manufactures of France. 

December 1. The new month dawned gloomily upon the Emperor. Las 
Casas was in close confinement, and greatly perplexed respecting his proba- 
ble fate. His son was sick, and fast sinking, apparently, in the arriis of death. 
The governor was probably no less embarrassed to know what to do with his 
prisoner. He could not wantonly detain him for months and years in soli- 
tary confinement at St. Helena, for in his papers there had not been found 
the slightest indication of any plot to assist in the escape of the Emperor. 
Should he send his prisoner to Europe, he would there reveal, to the millions 
who loved Napoleon with deathless fervor, all the awful secrets of his pris- 
on-house. 

Eight days of imprisonment slowly passed away without the least appar- 
ent approach to any result. After meditating long and anxiously, Las Casas 
wrote a letter to the governor, appealing to the tribunals of England for jus- 
tice and judgment, and demanding that he, with his papers, should imme- 
diately be sent there. 

The Emperor also expressed to Dr. O'Meara the opinion that that would 
be the best course he could pursue. 

" I hope," said he, "that Las Casas will return to England. Three or 
four months' stay in St. Helena will be of little utility either to him or to me. 
The next to be removed, under some pretext, will be Montholon, as they see 
that he is a most useful and consoling friend to me, and that he always en- 
deavors to anticipate my wants. I am less unfortunate than they are. I 
see nobody. They are subject to daily insults and vexations. They can 
not speak, they can not write, they can not stir out, without submitting to 



510 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXV. 

degrading restrictions. I am sorry that, two montlis ago, tliej did not all 
go. I have sufficient force to resist alone against all this tyranny. It is 
only prolonging their agony to keep them here a few months longer. After 
they have been taken away, you will be sent off, and then the crime will be 
consummated. 

" They are subject to every caprice which arbitrary power chooses to in- 
flict, and are not protected by any laws. He is at once jailer, governor, ac- 
cuser, judge, and sometimes executioner ; for example, when he seized that 
East Indiaman, who was recommended by that brave man. Colonel Skelton, 
to General Montholon, as a good servant. He came up here and seized the 
man with his own hands, under my windows. He did justice to himself, 
certainly. The business of a constable becomes him much better than that 
of the representative of a great nation. A soldier is better off than they are, 
as, if he is accused, he must be tried according to known forms before he can 
be punished. In the worst dungeon in England, a prisoner is not denied 
printed papers and books. Except obliging me to see him, he has done ev- 
ery thing to annoy me." 

Decemher 3-4. The Emperor remained in his room, and was quite unwell. 
Dr. O'Meara records the following conversation as occurring in his sick-cham- 
ber: 

"Moreau," said the Emperor, "was an excellent general of division, but 
not fit to command a large army. With a hundred thousand men, Moreau 
would divide his army in different positions, covering roads, and would not 
do more than if he had only thirty thousand. He did not know how to profit 
either by the number of his troops or by their position. Very calm and cool 
in the field, he was more collected and better able to command in the heat 
of an action than to make dispositions prior to it. He was often seen smok- 
iiig his pipe in battle. Moreau was not naturally a man of a bad heart. He 
was a merry fellow, but he had but little character. He was led away by 
his wife and another intriguing Creole. His having joined Pichegru and 
Georges in the conspiracy, and subsequently having closed his life fighting 
against his country, will ever disgrace his memory. As a general, Moreau 
was infinitely inferior to Desaix, or to Kleber, or even to Soult. 

"Of all the generals I ever had under me, Desaix and Kleber possessed 
the greatest talents, especially Desaix, as Kleber only loved glory inasmuch 
as it was the means of procuring him riches and pleasures, whereas Desaix 
loved glory for itself, and despised every thing else. Desaix Avas wholly 
rapt up in war and glory. To him riches and pleasure were valueless, nor 
did he give them a moment's thought. He was a little, black-looking man, 
about an inch shorter than I am, always badly dressed, sometimes even rag- 
ged, and despising comfort or convenience. 

" W^hen in Egypt, I made him a present of a complete field-equipage sev- 
eral times, but he always lost it. Wrapped up in a cloak, Desaix threw 
himself under a gun, and slept as contentedly as if he were in a palace. 
For him luxury had no charms. Upright and honest in all his proceedings, 
he was called by the Arabs the just sultan. He was intended by Nature 



1816, December.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 511 

for a great general. Kleber and Desaix were a loss irreparable to France. 
Had Kleber lived, your army in Egypt would have perished. Had that im- 
becile Menou attacked you on your landing with twenty thousand men, as 
he might have done, instead of the division Lanusse, your army would have 
been only a meal for them. Tou Avere seventeen or eighteen thousand strong, 
without cavalry. \ 

" Massena," said he, " was a man of superior talent. He generally, how-j 
ever, made bad dispositions previous to a battle, and it was not until the dead 
fell around him that he began to act with that judgment which he ought to 
have displayed before. In the midst of the dying and the dead, of balls 
sweeping away those who encircled him, then Massena was himself — gave his 
orders, and made his dispositions with the greatest sang f void and judgment. 
This is true nobleness of blood. It was truly said of Massena that he nev- 
er began to act with judgment until the battle was going against him. He 
was, however, a robber. He went halves along with the contractors and 
commissaries of the army. I signified to him often that, if he would discon- 
tinue his peculations, I would make him a present of eight hundred thou- 
sand or a million of francs, but he had acquired such a habit that he could 
not keep his hands from money. On this account he was hated by the sol- 
diers, who mutinied against him three or four times. However, considering 
the circumstances of the times, he was precious ; and, had not his bright 
parts been soiled with the vice of avarice, he would have been a great man." 

Sir Hudson Lowe came up to Longwood, and observed to Dr. O'Meara 
that General Bonaparte had adopted, a very bad mode of procedure, by in a 
manner declaring war against him (Sir Hudson), when he was the only per- 
son who had it in his power to render him a service or to make his situation 
comfortable. He then made some remarks upon " General Bonaparte's con- 
stantly confining himself to his room," and asked what O'Meara supposed 
would induce him to go out. 

O'Meara replied, "An enlargement of his boundaries, taking off some of the 
restrictions, and giving him a house at the other side of the island. He has 
frequently complained that he could not walk out at Longwood without get- 
ting a pain in his head from the sun, as there was no shade ; or, if the rays 
of the sun were obscured, his cheeks became inflamed ; or a catarrh was pro- 
duced by the sharp wind blowing over an elevated spot without shelter." 
O'Meara observed, also, that the allowance of provision was totally insuffi- 
cient, as the French laid out seven or eight pounds a day in articles which 
were indispensable, and which he enumerated. 

Sir Hudson Lowe answered, " With respect to this last, I have exceeded 
by one half what is allowed by the ministers, who are answerable to Parlia- 
ment that the expenses of Longwood do not exceed eight thousand pounds 
per annum, and perhaps I may be obliged hereafter to pay the surplus out of 
my own salary. My instructions are much more rigid than those of my 
predecessor. The British government do not wish to render General Bona- 
parte's existence miserable, or to torture him. It is not so much himself 
they are afraid of; but turbulent and disaffected people in Europe will make 



512 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXV. 

use of his name and influence to excite rebellion and disturbances in France 
and elsewhere, in order to aggrandize themselves, and otherwise answer 
their own purposes. Las Casas is also very v/ell treated, and wants for 
nothing." 

This he desired O'Meara would communicate to General Bonaparte. The 
doctor communicated some of those remarks of the governor's to Napoleon, 
who replied, 

" I do not believe that he acts according to his instructions ; or if he does, 
he has disgraced himself by accepting a dishonorable employment. A gov- 
ernment two thousand leagues off, and ignorant of the localities of the island, 
can never give orders in detail. They can only give general and discretion- 
ary ones. They have only directed him to adopt every measure he may 
think necessary to prevent my escape. Instead of that, I am treated in a, 
manner dishonorable to humanity. To kill and bury a man is well under- 
stood, but this slow torture, this killing in detail, is much less humane than 
if they ordered me to be shot at once. 

" I have often heard," continued he, " of the tyranny and oppressions prac- 
ticed in your colonies, but I never thought that there could exist such vio- 
lations of law and of justice as are practiced here. From what I have seen 
of you English, I think there is not a nation on earth more enslaved." 

Here O'Meara begged liim not to form his opinion of the English nation 
by a little colony, placed under peculiar circumstances, and subject to mil- 
itary law. 

" I only speak of you," said tlie Emperor, " as I have seen you, and I find 
you to be the greatest slaves upon earth. All trembling with fear at the 
sight of that governor! There is Sir George Bingham, who is a well-dis- 
posed man, yet he is so much afraid that he will not come and see me, through 
fear that he might give umbrage to the governor. The rest of the officers 
run away at the sight of us." 

O'Meai-a observed that it was not fear, but delicacy, which prevented Sir 
George Bingham from coming, and that, as to the other officers, they must 
obey the orders which they had received. 

Napoleon replied, " If they were French officers, they would not be afraid 
of expressing their opinion as to the barbarity of the treatment pursued here ; 
and a French general, second in command, would, if he saw his country dis- 
honored in the manner yours is, write a complaint of it himself to his gov- 
ernment. As to myself," continued he, " I Avould never make a complaint, 
if I did not know tliat, were an inquiry demanded by the nation, your min- 
isters would say, ' He has never complained, and therefore he is conscious 
that he is well treated, and that there are no grounds for it.' Otherwise I 
should conceive it degrading to me to utter a word, though I am so disgust- 
ed with the conduct of this sbirro that I should, with the greatest pleasure, 
receive the intimation that orders had arrived to shoot me. I should esteem 
it a blessing." 

O'Meara observed that Sir Hudson Lowe had professed himself very de- 
sirous to accommodate and arrange matters in an amicable manner. 



1816, December.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 513 

Napoleon replied, " If lie wishes to accommodate, let him put things upon 
the same footing thej were during the time of Admiral Cockhurn. Let no 
person be permitted to enter here for the purpose of seeing me without a let- 
ter from Bertrand. If he does not like to give Bertrand liberty to pass peo- 
ple in, let him make out a list himself of such persons in the island as he 
will allow to visit, and send it to Bertrand, and let the latter have the power 
to grant them permission to enter, and to write to them. 

" When strangers arrive, in like manner let him make out a list of such 
as he will permit to see us, and, during their stay, let them be allowed to 
visit Vvdth Bertrand's pass. Perhaps I should see very few of them, as it is 
difficult to distinguish between those who come up to see me as they would 
a wild boar, and others who are actuated by motives of respect ; but still I 
should like to have the privilege. It is for him to accommodate, if he likes. 
He has the power, I have none. I am not governor ; I have no places to give 
away. Let him take off his prohibitions that I shall not quit the high road, 
or speak to a lady if I meet one. In a few words, let him behave well to 
me. If he does not choose to treat me like a man, let him not treat me 
worse than a galley-slave or a condemned criminal, as they are not prohibit- 
ed to speak. Let him do this, and then I will say that he acted at first in- 
considerately, through fear of my escaping, but that when he saw his error 
he was not ashamed to alter his treatment. Then I will say that I formed 
a hasty opinion of him — that I have been mistaken. You are a child, doc- 
tor ; you have too good an opinion of mankind. This man is not sincere. I 
believe the opinion I first formed of him is correct ; that he is a man whose 
natural badness is increased by suspicion and dread of the responsibility of 
the situation which he holds. He is a man crafty, abject, and entirely un- 
fitted for his office. 

"I would wager my life," continued he, "that if I sent for Sir George 
Bingham, or the admiral, to ride out with me, before I had gone out three 
times with either the one or the other, this governor would make some in- 
sinuations to them which would render me liable to be affronted by their re- 
fusing to accompany me any longer. He says that Las Casas is well treat- 
ed, and wants for nothing, because he does not starve him. He is a man 
truly ignoble. He degrades his own species. He pays no attention to the 
moral wants which distinguish the man from the brute ; he only looks to 
the physical and grosser ones. . Just as if Las Casas were a horse or an ass, 
and that a bundle of hay was sufficient to entitle him to say he is happy ; 
because his stomach was full, therefore all his wants were satisfied." 

Decemher 5. Dr. 0']\leara had a long conversation with the Emperor in 
his bath. He asked his opinion of the Emperor Alexander, '■^Cest un homme 
extremement faux — un Grec du has ew^J?^>g,"* replied Napoleon. He is 
plausible, a great dissimulator, very ambitious, and a man who studies to 
make himself popular. It is his foible to believe himself skilled in the art 
of war, and he likes nothing so well as to be complimented upon it, although 
every thing that originated with himself, relative to militaiy operations, was 
* He is a man extremely treacherous — a Greek of the Lower Empire, 

Kk 



514 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXV. 

ill-judo-ed and absurd. At Tilsit, Alexander and the King of Prussia used 
frequently to occupy themselves in contriving dresses for dragoons ; debating 
upon what button the crosses of the orders ought to be hung, and such other 
fooleries. They fancied themselves on an equality with the best generals in 
Europe, because they knew how many rows of buttons there were upon a 
dragoon's jacket. I could scarcely keep from laughing sometimes, when I 
heard them discussing these trivialities with as much gravity and earnest- 
ness as if they were planning an impending action between two hundred 
thousand men. However, I encouraged them in their arguments, as I saw 
it was their weak point." 

Speaking of his own wonderful career, the Emperor said, " Nothing has 
been more simple than my elevation. It was not the result of intrigue or 
crime. It was owing to the peculiar circumstances of the times, and because 
I fought successftilly against the enemies of my country. What is most ex- 
traordinary, and, I believe, unparalleled in history, is, that I rose from being 
a private person to the astonishing lieight of power I possessed without hav- 
ing committed a single crime to obtain it. If I were on my death-bed I 
could make the same declaration." 

Speaking of the expedition to Copenhagen, he remarked, " That expedition 
showed great energy on the part of your ministers. But, setting aside the 
violation of the laws of nations which you committed, for, in fact, it was 
nothing but a robbery, I think that it Avas injurious to your interests, as it 
made the brave Danish nation iiTeconcilable enemies to you, and, in fact, 
shut you out of the north for three years. When I heard of it, I said, I am 
glad of it, as it will embroil England irrecoverably with the northern powers. 
The Danes being able to join me with sixteen sail of the line was of but lit- 
tle consequence. I had plenty of ships, and only wanted seamen, whom you 
did not take, and whom I obtained afterward ; while by the expedition your 
ministers established their characters as faithless, and as persons with whom 
no engagements, no laws were binding." 

Lady Lowe came up to Longwood, and paid a visit, for the first time, to 
Countesses Bertrand and Montholon. 

December 6. Las Casas still remained in his prison, entirely uninformed 
respecting his future destiny. Dreary hours of monotony, of sickness, and 
of gloom oppressed the Emperor. The memory of his wife and of his be- 
loved child, whom he was never to see again, weighed heavily upon him. 
When Dr. O'Meara called this day iipon his patient, sinking by slow tor- 
ture to the grave, Napoleon said, 

" The visit of Lady Lowe yesterday appeared to me to be an artifice of 
her husband to throw dust in the eyes ; to make people believe that, not- 
withstanding the arrest of Las Casas, the governor w^as very well received 
at Longwood, and had only done his duty ; and that there was no founda- 
tion for the reports which had been spread of the ill treatment said to be in- 
flicted upon the inhabitants of Longwood." 

Dr. O'Meara remarked that Lady Lowe had been always desirous to call 
upon Countesses Bertrand and Montholon, and had embraced the first op- 
portunity which presented itself after her accouchement. 



1816, December.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 515 

Napoleon replied, " I am far from thinking that she participates in the de- 
signs of her husband, but she has badly chosen the time. At the moment 
when he treats Las Casas so barbarously and illegally, he sends her up. It 
is either an artifice of her husband's to blind the world, or else he mocks our 
misfortunes. Nothing is so insulting as to add irony to injury." 

Dr. O'Meara observed that more probably it was a preliminary step of the 
governor's toward an accommodation. 

"No," replied Napoleon, "that can not be. If he really wished to ac- 
commodate, the first step would be to take away some of his useless and op- 
pressive restrictions. Yesterday, after his wife had been here, Madam Ber- 
trand and family went out to walk. On their return, they were stopped and 
seized by the sentinels, who refused to let them in because it was six o'clock. 
Now, in the name of Heaven, if he had a mind to accommodate, would he 
continue to prevent us from walking at the only time of the day when, at 
this season, it is agreeable ? Tell him," continued Napoleon, " candidly, the 
observations I have made, if he asks you what I thought of the visit." 

December 7. Las Casas makes the following record : " Our situation still 
offers the same uniformity ; no appearance of our approaching toward any 
result whatever. It is now almost a fortnight since the unfortunate event 
took place, and we are still in the same state of seclusion, exposed to the 
same restrictions, the same torments. We seldom receive any news of the 
Emperor, and then only through the governor himself. Our prison is situ- 
ated precisely opposite to, and at no great distance from Longwood, from 
which we are only separated by precipices. Whenever we raise our eyes we 
see before us that object of our thoughts and wishes, and we are forever turn- 
ing them toward it. We can follow the daily avocations of its inhabitants, 
which are so familiar to us, but we can not possibly distinguish any living 
object. This constant attraction constantly opposed, this proximity, and, at 
the same time, this great distance, this object of our wishes forever present, 
and, as it were, forever withdrawn from us, all this together forms something 
like the hell of the ancients. 

" My son continues to be extremely ill. Dr. Baxter, senior medical offi- 
cer of the island, and an inmate of Government House, came, with a degree 
of politeness of which I preserve the recollection with a sincere feeling of grat- 
itude, to add his cares with those of Dr. O'Meara. They both have repre- 
sented to Sir Hudson Lowe the critical state of my son, and warmly sup- 
ported my request that he might be sent to Europe. Dr. O'Meara having, 
after a fresh crisis, renewed the subject alone, Sir Hudson Lowe put an end 
to his importunities by the following words, which Dr. O'Meara has since 
repeated to my son and myself: 

" ' Well, sir, after all, what matters the death of a child in a case of politics?' 

"I hand over the naked phrase to every paternal heart and to all mothers." 

December 8. The Emperor, while in his bath, received Dr. O'Meara. He 
regarded the doctor with very friendly feelings, and, though he could not con- 
verse with him, a foreigner and an English officer, confidingly respecting his 
conflicts and his griefs, he could freely communicate his thoughts upon all 



516 NAPOLEOx\ AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXVI. 

topics of general interest. He spoke quite at length upon the depressed con- 
dition of England, which he attributed to the incapacity of Lord Castlereagh. 
Then turning to France, he said, 

" You will find that in a few years very little English merchandise will be 
sold on the Continent. I gave a new era to manufactories. The French 
already excel you in the manufacture of cloths and many other articles ; 
the Hollanders in cambric and linen. I formed several thousand. I estab- 
lished the Polytechnic School, from which hundreds of able chemists went 
to the different manufactories. In each of them, I caused a person Avell 
skilled in chemistry to reside. In consequence, every thing proceeded upon 
certain and established principles, and they had a reason to give for every 
part of their operations, instead of the old, vague, and uncertain mode. 

" Times are changed," continued Napoleon, " and you must no longer look 
to the Continent for the disposal of your manufactures. America, the Span- 
ish and Portuguese Main, are the only vent for them. Recollect what I say 
to you. In a year or two, your people will complain, and say, 'We have 
gained every thing, but we are starving ; we are Avorse than we were during 
the war.' Then perhaps your ministers will endeavor to effect what they 
ou2:ht to have done at first. You are not able to face even Prussia in the 
field, and your preponderance on the Continent was entirely owing to that 
naval sovereignty which perhaps you may lose by this military disease of 
your ministers." 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 
1816, December. Continued. 



Letter from the Emperor to Las Casas — Arrival of Sir Thomas Strange — Brutality of Colonel 
Reade — Death of Moreau — Anecdote — Continued Imprisonment of Las Casas — Relentings of 
the Governor — Views of the Emperor respecting his Situation — Las Casas forbidden to take 
leave of the Emperor — Departure of Las Casas — His subsequent Persecutions. 

Decemher 10. The Emperor still kept his room. He was feeble and in 
low spirits. Sir Hudson Lowe returned two or three chapters of the Cam- 
paigns of Italy, but retained the rest. Napoleon requested Dr. O'Meara to 
inform the governor that he supposed he was getting them copied, and ac- 
cording as they were finished he would send them back. 

The governor was very angry in the reception of this message, and said, 
at the close of a long and passionate conversation, 

" General Bonaparte can not be permitted to run about the country. If 
the intentions of ministers were only to prevent his escape fi'om the island, 
a company's governor would have answered as well as any other person. 
But there are other objects in view, and material ones, v/hich I have been 
sent out to fulfill. There are several strong reasons for not allowing him to 
communicate in the island. Any man might secure his person by planting 
sentries about him ; but much more is to be done. Tell General Bonaparte 
that it is very fortunate for him that he has so good a man as myself for gov- 



1816, December.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 517 

ernor over him. Others, with the instructions which I have, would put him 
in chains for his conduct." 

December 11. The Emperor wrote the following letter to Las Casas: 

" Longwood, December 11, 1816. 

" My dear Count Las Casas, — Mj heart is deeply sensible of what you 
are suffering. Torn from me seventeen or eighteen days ago, you are se- 
cretly imprisoned, and I can neither hear ftrom you nor send news of myself; 
you have not been allowed to communicate with any one, either French or 
English, and are even deprived of a servant of your own choice. 

" Your conduct at St. Helena has been, like your life, honorable and blame- 
less ; I have pleasure in telling you so. 

"Your letter to your friend in London contains nothing reprehensible. 
You there poured out your heart into the bosom of friendship. This letter 
is like the eight or ten others which you sent open. The governor of this 
island, having had the indelicacy to scrutinize the expressions which you 
confided to friendship, reproached you with them ; lastly, he threatened to 
send you from the island if your letters contained any more complaints. In 
acting thus, he violated the first duty of his post, the first article of his re- 
strictions, and the first sentiment of honor. He thus authorized you to seek 
some means of opening your heart to your friends, and of acquainting them 
with the guilty conduct of the governor. But you are incapable of artifice ; 
it was easy to surprise your confidence. 

"A pretext was wanted for seizing your papers. A letter to your friend 
in London could not authorize a police visit to your apartment, for this letter 
contains no plot, no mystery ; it is but the outpouring of an open and noble 
heart. The illegal and precipitate conduct pursued on this occasion bears 
the character of a mean and personal hatred. 

" In the least civilized countries, exiles, prisoners, and even criminals, are 
under the protection of the laws or magistrates. The persons appointed to 
guard them have superiors, either in the administration or in the judicial or- 
der, who inspect their conduct. But here, on this rock, the same man who 
makes the most absurd regulations, executes them with violence, and trans- 
gresses all laws, and there is no one to restrain the excess of his caprice. 

" Longwood is wrapped in a veil which he would fain make impenetrable, 
in order to hide criminal conduct. This peculiar care to conceal matters 
gives room to suspect the most odious intentions. 

- " False rumors have been spread, for the purpose of deceiving the officers, 
strangers, and inhabitants of this island, and even the foreign agents, who, 
they say, are kept here by Austria and Russia. The English government 
is certainly deceived, in the same manner, by cunning and false information. 

" Your papers, among which it was well known that there were some be- 
longing to me, were seized, without any formality, close to my apartment, 
and with expressions of ferocious joy. I was informed of this some few. 
moments afterward. I looked through the window, and saw them taking 
you away. A numerous stafi* pranced about you. I imagined I saw some 



518 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXVI. 

South Sea Islanders dancing round the prisoners whom they were about to 
devour. 

" Your services were necessary to me ; you alone could read, speak, and 
understand English. How many nights have you watched over me during 
my illness! Nevertheless, I request you, and, in case of need, command 
you, to require the governor to send you to the Continent. He can not re- 
fuse, because he has no power over you except through the voluntary doc- 
ument which you signed. It would be a great consolation to me to know 
that you were on your way to more happy countries. 

" When you arrive in Europe, whether you go to England or return to 
France, forget the misfortunes to which you have been subjected. Boast of 
the fidelity you showed me, and aU the affection I bore you. 

" If you should some day see my wife and my son, embrace them from 
me. For two years I have had no news from them, direct or indirect. A 
German botanist, wlio saw them a few days before his departure, in the gar- 
den of Schoenbrun, has been residing here for six months, but the barbarians 
wiU not allow him to come and tell me wliat he knows of them. 

" And, lastly, be consoled, and console my friends. My body is, it is true, 
in the power of my enemies' hatred, and they neglect nothing which may 
gratify their vengeance. They are killing me by slow degrees, but Provi- 
dence is too just to allow this to be much prolonged. The unhealthiness of 
this destroying climate, and the want of every thing which sustains and an- 
imates life, will soon — I feel it — put an end to an existence whose last mo- 
ments will be the disgrace of the English character. Europe will one day 
point with horror at the hypocritical and wicked man whom true Englishmen 
wiU disown as a countryman. 

"As aU circumstances incline me to think that you will not be permitted 
to come and see me before your departure, receive my embraces, and the as- 
surances of my esteem and friendship. Be happy ! 

"Yours affectionately, 
' ' (Signed), Napoleon. " 

This letter, sealed, was sent to the governor, to be given by him to Las 
Casas ; but Sir Hudson Lowe immediately returned it, with a note to Gen- 
eral Bertrand, stating that no communications could be permitted between 
Long-wood and Las Casas except such as were transmitted open. The Em- 
peror was reclining upon his sofa at the moment when the letter was brought 
back to him with this new obstacle. He took the letter, broke the seal, and 
returned it, without even looking at the person who had brought back the 
letter to him. The governor then called upon Las Casas, and, after a long 
and awkward preamble, said, 

" I hold in my hand a letter, which my situation gives me a right to with- 
hold from you ; but I know how dear to you is the hand that wrote it, and 
how much you value the sentiments which it expresses. I am, therefore, 
going to show it to you, notwithstanding the many personal motives I may 
have for not doino; so." 



1816, December.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 519 

"It was," says Las Casas, "a letter from the Emperor. I showed my- 
self so much aifected that the governor appeared to be moved by it, and con- 
sented to my request of being allowed to take a copy of what was merely 
personal in the letter. My son copied it in a hurry, so much we dreaded 
lest he should alter his mind ; and when he left us, we recopied it in many 
ways and in many places. We even learned it by heart, so great was our 
fear that the night's reflections might occasion Sir Hudson Lowe to repent." 

December 12. Sir Thomas Strange, judge of the Supreme Court in Cal- 
cutta, had called at St. Helena on his return from England. He was very 
anxious to see the Emperor. Sir Hudson Lowe requested Dr. O'Meara to 
endeavor to obtain for him an interview. 

" I informed the Emperor," says Dr. O'Meara, " that Sir Thomas Strange, 
who had been chief judge in the East Indies, was desirous of paying his re- 
spects to him, and that his intended visit did not arise from curiosity, but 
was a mark of that attention which every person ought to show toward so 
great a man, and one who had filled so high a station in the world." 

Napoleon replied, " I will see no person who does not first go to Bertrand. 
Persons sent direct by the governor I will not see, as it would have the ap- 
pearance of obeying a command from him." 

Count Bertrand now came in, and mentioned that the governor was at 
Longwood, and wanted to see Dr. O'Meara. 

Napoleon then said, "If he asks you any questions about my thoughts, 
tell him that I intend writing a protest to the Prince Regent against his 
barbarous conduct ; that his keeping Las Casas in custody, when there is 
nothing against him, is illegal ; that he ought either to be sent back here, 
or sent off the island, or tried ; that if he wishes to accommodate differ- 
ences, as he informed you, let him alter his conduct, and put matters upon 
the footing they were during the time of Admiral Cockburn. As to the visit 
of the judge, whom he wishes me to see, tell him that those who have gone 
down to the tomb receive no visits / and take care that the judge be made 
acquainted with my answer." 

When the governor received this answer, he was extremely angry, and Sir 
Thomas Peade replied, 

" If I were governor, I'll be d — d if I would not make him feel that he 
was a prisoner." 

"Why, you can not," said Dr. O'Meara, " do much more to him than you 
have already done, unless you put him in irons." 

"Oh," answered Reade, "if he did not comply with what I wanted, I'll 
be d — d if I wouldn't take his books from him, which I'll advise the gov- 
ernor to do. He is a d — d outlaw and a prisoner, and the governor has a 
right to treat him with as much severity as he likes, and nobody has any 
business to interfere with him in the execution of his dutv." 

December 13. In an interview with Dr. O'Meara, the Emperor spoke of 
the probability of a revolution in France. 

"Ere twenty years have elapsed, when I am dead and buried," said he, 
" you will witness another revolution in France. It is impossible that twen- 



520 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. XXXVI. 

ty-nine millions of Frenchmen can live contented under the yoke of sovereigns 
imposed upcu them by foreigners, and against whom they have fought and 
bled for nearly thirty years. Can }'ou blame the French for not being Avill- 
ing to submit to the yoke of such ani?/ial8 as Montchenu ? You are very 
fond in England of making a comparison between the restoration of Charles 
the Second and that of Louis, but there is not the smallest similitude. 
Charles was recalled by the mass of the English nation to the throne which 
his successor afterward lost for a inai<s / but as to the Bourbons, there is 
not a village in France which has not lost thirty or forty of the liower of its 
youth in endeavoring to prevent their return. The sentiments of the nation 
are, ' ^Ve have not brought back those wretches ; no, those who have ravaged 
our country, burned our houses, and violated our wives and our daughters, 
have placed them on the throne by force.' " 

0'j\leara asked the Emperor some questions about the share that Moreau 
had in Georges' conspiracy. 

"Moreau," said he, "confessed to his advocate that he had seen and con- 




THE FALL OF MOREAU. 



1816, December.] 



RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



521 



versed with Georges and Pichegru, and that, on his trial, he intended to avow 
it. Moreau, in an interview with the other two conspirators, insisted that 
the first step to Tbe taken was to kill me ; that when I was disposed of, he 
should have great power and influence with the army, hut that, as long as I 
lived, he could do nothing. 

"In the battle before Dresden," said Napoleon, "I ordered an attack to 
be made upon the Allies by both flanks of my army. . While the maneuvers 
for this purpose were executing, the centre remained motionless. At the dis- 
tance of about from this to the outer gate,* I observed a group of persons 
collected together on horseback. Concluding that they were endeavoring to 
observe my maneuvers, I resolved to disturb them, and called to a captain of 
artillery, who commanded a field battery of eighteen or twenty pieces, ' Jettez 
une douzaine de hoidets a la fois dans ce grouj^e la, ]pexd-etre il y a quelques 
petits generaux.^ (Throw a dozen of bullets at once into that group; per- 
haps there are some little generals in it.) It was done instantly. One of 
the balls struck Moreau, carried ofl'both his legs, and went through his horse. 
Many more, I believe, who were near him, were killed and wounded. A 
moment before, Alexander had been speaking to him." 

It was during this camjDaign that Bessieres, one of Napoleon's most valued 
and devoted friends, fell at his side. 







IjEAni OF BESSIf.RES 



December 15. Dr. O'Meara mentioned to the Emperor that Sir Hudson 
Lowe had inquired if the interference of Sir George Bingham as intermedi- 
ator would probably be of any service in bringing about a reconciliation be- 
tween the governor and his captives. 

"Perhaps it might be of sonie service," said the Emperor; "but all he 
has to do is to conduct himself no longer as a jailer, but behave like a gen- 
tleman. If any person were to undertake the office of mediator, the most 
suitable would be the admiral, both because he is independent of Sir Hud- 

* About five hundred 3'ards. 



522 NAPOLEOxN AT ST. HELEJ^A. [ChAP. XXXVI, 

son Lowe, and because he is a man with whom I can reason and argue. But 
when your ministry is insincere, wants to shufEe, or has nothing good to 
execute, a miscreant Hke Drake, or Sir Hudson Lowe, is sent out as embas- 
sador or governor. When it is the contrary, and it wishes to conciliate or 
treat, such a man as Lord CornwalUs is employed. A Cornwallis here would 
be of more avail than all the restrictions that could be imagined." 

December 18. The governor was now evidently much emban-assed to 
know Avhat to do Avith Las Casas. He was a dangerous man to send to 
EurojDC, to proclaizn there all the secret outrages of Longwood. But Las Ca- 
sas, after the solitary imprisonment of more than a month, had fully decided 
to insist upon this as his right. 

"I can," said he to himself, "no longer be of any gi-eat service to the 
Emperor here, but I may, perhaps, be useful to him elsewhere. I will go to 
England, and appeal to the ministers. Whatever I say will evidently come 
from the heart. I will paint the truth, and they can not but be touched with 
the miseries I shall unfold to them. They will ameliorate the condition of 
the illustrious captive, and I will myself return and lay at his feet the con- 
solation which my zeal will have procured." 

He was confirmed in this opinion by a sentence in the Emperor's letter, 
indicating coincidence in the same judgment : 

" I request you, and, in case of need, command you to require the gov- 
ernor to send you to the Continent." 

But the more urgently Las Casas pressed this claim, the more reluctant 
the governor aj)peared to grant it ; and now he told Las Casas plainly that 
he was willing that he should return to Longwood. 

Dr. O'Meara, in his visit to the Emperor to-day, mentioned that the gov- 
ernor had offered to allow Las Casas to return to Longwood. After some 
conversation, the Emperor said, 

" I can give no advice to Las Casas about it. If he comes back, I shall 
receive him with pleasure ; if he goes away, I shall hear of it with pleasure. 
But, in the latter case, I should wish to see him once more before he leaves 
the island. Since the arrest of Las Casas, I have requested all my generals 
to go away. I shall be more independent without them, as then I should 
not labor under the fear of their suffering ill treatment by the governor, in 
order thereby to revenge himself upon me. I," continued he, " am not afraid 
that they will send 7ifie off the island." 

December 20. The governor seemed very reluctant to have Las Casas go 
to England, and appears to have hoped that a threat to send him to the Cape 
of Good Hope would induce him to remain at Longwood. He accordingly 
wrote him to-day a communication, stating that he was to be sent to the 
Cape. With this communication he, however, sent another letter, saying, 
" In communicating to you the decision contained in the inclosed paper, I 
beg leave, at the same time, to acquaint you that I shall have no objection, 
as already verbally communicated to you, to your remaining on this island, 
if you should prefer remaining lierc to proceeding to the Cape of Good Hope, 
until I may receive instructions from the British government respecting you." 



1816, Decemlber.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 523 

December 24. The son of Las Casas was very sick. For seven days he 
had not seen a physician. The affectionate and agonized father wrote an 
imploring letter to the governor, beseeching that they might be transferred to 
the town, even to the common jail if necessary, where his sick and apparent- 
ly dying child might he within the reach of medical aid. The governor ac- 
ceded to his request, and in the evening an orderly officer came and conduct- 
- ed the two prisoners, the father and the son, to the governor's castle at James- 
town. 

" How anxiously," says Las Casas, " did we turn our eyes to Longwood 
at the moment of our departure ! What were our thoughts and sensations 
as we proceeded along the road ! What a wound was inflicted on my heart 
when, for the last time, I turned my look on Longwood, and saw it gradual- 
ly disappear from my eyes ! " 

December 26. Several days passed away, and the governor continued to 
hold up his threat to send Las Casas, not to Europe, but to the Cape of 
Good Hope. At the same time, he seemed disposed to relent a little in his 
severe treatment of the Emperor. He was evidently alarmed, and very ap- 
prehensive of the communications which Las Casas might make to the pub- 
lic. He requested Dr. O'Meara to tell General Bonaparte that several of the 
restrictions should be removed, especially those relating to speaking; that 
the limits should be enlarged, and that liberty should be granted for him to 
receive visits nearly as in former times under the admiral. To this Napoleon 
replied : 

" I desire no more than to have matters put, as nearly as possible, as they 
were under the admiral. I think it riglit and just, if the governor suspected 
either an inhabitant of the island, or a passenger, or any other individual, 
that he should not allow such persons to enter Longwood. But what I de- 
sire is that the majority of respectable passengers or inhabitants should be 
allowed to visit me, and not one or two who have been picked out and sent 
up by the governor or by his staff, as a keeper of galley-slaves would send 
a curious traveler to his galleys to see some extraordinary criminal." 

Count Bertrand this day wrote a letter remonstrating against sending Las 
Casas to the Cape instead of to England, and intimating a strong desire on 
the part of Napoleon that Las Casas might be permitted to visit Longwood 
to take leave of the Emperor previous to his departure. 

, " Criminals," said the Emperor to Dr. O'Meara, " condemned to death, 
and on the point of being led out to execution, are allowed to bid adieu to 
their friends, without it being required that a third person should be present. 
Bertrand has written to the governor that he hopes he will not refuse his 
consent to a matter of so little consequence. If he refuses, Bertrand will go 
down to see Las Casas with an officer, which I could not consent to do. 
What c^n the governor be afraid of? that I would tell Las Casas to write to 
my wife ? He will do that without direction. That I would tell him my 
sentiments and intentions ? He knows them already. Does he think that 
Europe is a mine of gunpowder, and Las Casas the spark to blow it up ?" 

The governor, however, peremptorily refused to permit any interview un- 



524 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXVI. 

less it could take place in the presence of a British officer. To this indigni- 
ty the Emperor was not disposed to submit. 

Shortly afterward, Count Bertrand and Baron Gourgaud went to town, 
under guard of the English orderly officer, Captain Poppicton, to take leave 
of Count Las Casas. 

" It is difficult," says Dr. O'Meara, " to reconcile the conduct pursued to- 
ward them there with the other measures practiced by Sir Pludson Lowe, 
and with tlie importance which he professed to attach to ' cutting off all 
connnunication with Longwood.' At breakfast they were left to themselves, 
with the exception of Captain Poppleton, who understands French with dif- 
ficulty, and not at all when spoken in the quick manner in which Frenchmen 
usually converse with each other. For some hours they remained together 
in the large room of the castle, which is about fifty feet by twenty, walking 
up one side, while Colonel Wynyard and Major Gorrequer, who were to 
watch them, remained on the opposite side of the room ; so that, in fact, Las 
Casas might just as Avell have been permitted to come to Longwood, and 
thereby a refusal, which was considered as an insult, would have been spared 
to Napoleon." 

Dece7nber 29. To-day Las Casas and his son were sent on board a ship 
to be transported to the Cape of Good Hope, two thousand miles further from 
Europe. His journal, and every paper he had relating to the Emperor, were 
taken from him. After a passage of eighteen days they arrived at James- 
town. Here the British authorities, guided by letters from Sir Hudson Lowe, 
immediately arrested the sick and suffering exilesj and imprisoned them in 
the Castle. Las Casas Avrote to the governor at the Cape, Lord Charles 
Somerset, demanding the cause of his imprisonment, and claiming a trial if 
any changes wxre brought against him. The governor coolly replied that he 
considered him a prisoner on the report of Sir Hudson Lowe, and that here 
he must remain until instructions arrived from England. For upward of 
seven months the father and son were here held in most cruel captivity. At 
last they were sent to England in a very small brig of two hundred tons. 

After a passage of one hundred days, on the 15th of November, 1817, they 
arrived in the Downs ; but the vengeance of Sir Hudson Lowe had preceded 
them. They were immediately arrested by the British ministry, prohibited 
from landing, sent on board an alien ship, and ordered immediately to leave 
England. The ministers did not wish the people of England to hear the 
voice of Las Casas. So great Avas the fear of Lord Bathur.^t that the En- 
glish people might become acquainted with the atrocious crime which the 
ministry were so mercilessly perpetrating at Longwood ! An accidental delay 
detained Las Casas and his son a few days at Dover, and there, under a 
guard, they were carefully shut up in an inn. Las Casas wrote to Lord 
Bathurst, Lord Sidmouth, and others, but in vain ; the friend of Napoleon 
was an outlaw. 

He was again put on board a packet, after all his papers had been taken 
from him, and sent to Ostend ; but the malign eye of Lord Bathurst, vigi- 
lant through conscious guilt, followed him. He had hardly entered his room 



1816, December.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 525 

at an inn ere he was again arrested. He, however, succeeded in reaching 
Brussels, when he was again seized, placed in a carriage between a police-of- 
ficer and a gendarme, and without an hour of rest, and without intermission, 
was transferred from town to town, from police to police, across the whole 
kingdom of the Netherlands. No notice whatever was taken of his demands, 
his protests, his supplication. Such was the liberty which the Allies had 
restored to Europe. 

When he arrived on the frontiers of Prussia, he was placed in the hands 
of the Prussian police. The matter seemed to be perfectly understood by 
these allied governments. On arriving at Cologne, he was so ill that he 
could not be conveyed any farther, and he was allowed twenty-four hours 
for repose. Here he was overtaken by his devoted wife, who had been for 
many days, in intense anxiety, tracing and following the path of her husband 
and son. At last he arrived at Frankfort. Here he was permitted to re- 
main, with shattered health and crushed heart, for fifteen months. Though 
under the careful watch of the police, he did every thing which mortal energy, 
inspired by deathless affection, could do, to secure some relief for the illustri- 
ous sufferer at Longwood. He wrote to all the relatives of the Emperor ; 
again and again to the British ministers ; to the Prince Regent ; to the King 
of Prussia, and to the Emperors of Austria and of Russia ; but there was no 
relenting in the hard hearts of the enemies of Napoleon. 

The mother of Napoleon, heart-broken in view of the woes of her noble 
and beloved son, wrote the following touching letter to the allied sovereigns 
then assembled in Congress at Aix-la-Chapelle : 

The Mother of Najpoleon to the Allied Sovereigns. 

" SiitES, — ^A mother, afflicted beyond all expression, has long cherished 
the hope that the meeting of your imperial and royal majesties will afford 
some alleviation of her distress. The prolonged captivity of the Emperor 
Napoleon gives occasion for appealing to you. It is impossible but that your 
magnanimity, your power, and the recollection of past events should induce 
your imperial and royal majesties to interest yourselves for the deliverance 
of a prince who has had so great a share in your regard and even in your 
friendship. 

" Would you suffer to perish in miserable exile a sovereign who, relying 
on the magnanimity of his enemy, threw him. self into his power ? My son 
might have demanded an asylum from the emperor, his father-in-law. He 
might have consigned himself to the generosity of the- Emperor Alexander, 
of whom he was once the friend. He might have taken refuge with his 
Prussian majesty, who, in that case, would have no doubt recollected his old 
alliance. Should England punish him for the confidence he reposed in her ? 

" The Emperor Napoleon is no longer to be feared. He is infirm. And 
even if he were in the full enjoyment of his health, and had the means which 
Providence once placed in his hands, he abhors civil war. 

" Sires, I am a mother. My son's life is dearer to me than my own. Par- 
don my grief, which prompts me to take the liberty of addressing this letter 



526 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXVI. 

to vouv iniporial and voval inajostios. l\i not render nnavailing the en- 
treaties of a mother who thns ai>peal;? against the long series of crnelties that 
has heen oxereised toward her son. 

"In the name of Him who is in essence goodness, and of whom yonr im- 
perial and royal majesties are the imag-e, I entreat that yon will interest vonr- 
selves to pnt a period to my son's misery, and to restore him to liberty. For 
this I implore God, and I implore yon, who are his lieutenants npon earth. 
Eeasons of state have their limits ; and posterity, Avhieh gives immortality, 
adores, above all things, the generosity oi' eontj^uerors. 

" I am, *?ie., ]\L\dame Mere." 

The .VUies did not condescend to pay any attention to this aftecting ap- 
peal. 

Ltteien applied, with heartfelt earnestness, to the British government to be 
j>ermitted to proceed to St. Helena, and reside there two } ears, with or with- 
out his wife and children, engaging not to occasion any augmentation of ex- 
pense, and promising to submit to every restriction imposed on his brother, 
or that might be imposed on himself, either before his departure or after his 
return. His pleas were luiavailing. 

Tlie Emperor's mother, brothers, and sisters, who now received the iirst 
authentic tidings respecting the condition of the illustrious suit'erer, imme- 
diately decided to transmit to him annually thirty thousand dollars ; but, by 
a snigular fatality, it was a long time before the Emperor received any relief 
from this source. 

All the despotisms of Europe seemed to be watching Las Casas with a 
jealous eye. All his et^brts to recover his private papers and his journal 
were unavailing. It Avas not until after the death of the Emperor that he 
was enabled to recover his journal, and to publish his world-renowned memo- 
rial of St. Helena. 

From this digression let us turn agaii\ to the tragedy enacting at Long- 
wood. 

J)tCijnlhr 31. The gloom o^ the prison was now settling more and more 
heavily over the unhappy Emperor. His most cong-enial friend, the one to 
whom he most willingly coniided his thoughts, Avas torn from him. We 
have no longer the minute record of his long and dreary hours. He passed 
much of his time in reading, and in dictating his campaigns to Bertrand, 
^lontholon, and Gourgaud. Dr. O^Ieara daily visited his patient, and daily 
recorded his remarkable conversation. But T^r. O'^Ieara, however nimierous 
might have been his excellences, was not a man to Avin the confiding aft'ec- 
tion of Xapoleon. The Emperor respected his physician, and treated him 
ever Avith coiutcsy and kindness. But the soul of Xapoleon and the soul of 
Dr. O'^Ieara could not freely and intimately blend. 

Thus sadly terminated the vear 181G. 



1817, January.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 527 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

1817, January. 

New- Year's Gifts — Representations of Chateaubriand and of Sir Robert Wilson — Annoyance from 
Rats — Secret Amours of Napoleon — The Invasion of England — Conduct of the Governor. 

January 1. Dr. O'Meara was admitted to the Emperor in the drawing- 
room, and wished him a happy New-year. Napoleon smiled and said, 

" I hope that the succeeding year will find me better situated. Perhaps 
I shall be dead, which will be much better. Worse than this can not be." 

He then, with his own hand, presented to Dr. O'Meara a snufF-box, saying, 

" Here, doctor, is a present I make to you, for the attention which you 
have manifested toward me during my illness." 

He also presented to the Countesses Bertrand and Montholon some beau- 
tiful vases of porcelain, which had been presented to him by the city of Paris. 
To Count Bertrand he gave a set of chess-men ; to Montholon and Gour- 
gaud, handsome ornaments. Each one of the children also received some 
elegant gift from him. It was a dark and dismal day, and the island was 
enveloped in fog which the eye in vain attempted to penetrate. 

Jamiary 12. Dr. O'Meara saw Napoleon in his chamber. The conversa- 
tion turned upon the representations which Chateaubriand and Sir Robert 
Wilson had made of the Emperor. O'Meara observed that some persons 
were surprised that Napoleon had never written, or caused to be written, an 
answer to Sir Robert Wilson's work, and to others containing similar as- 
sertions. 

" It was unnecessary," the Emperor replied. " Such charges will fall to 
the ground of themselves. Sir Robert Wilson has already contradicted them 
by the answer which he has given in his interrogation, when tried in Paris, 
for having assisted Lavalette in his escape. And I am convinced that Wil- 
son is now sorry for having published what he then had been led to believe 
was true. Moreover, the English who return from their travels in France 
will return undeceived as to my character, and will undeceive their country- 
men." 

Speaking of his intense application to the duties of the cabinet, the Em- 
peror said, 

" I have frequently labored in state affairs for fifteen hours without a mo- 
ment's cessation, and without taking any nourishment. On one occasion I 
continued at my labors for three days and nights without lying down to 
sleep." 

When Napoleon rose from the dinner-table to-day, as he took his hat from 
the sideboard, a large rat sprang out of it. The miserable hovel in which 
the Emperor was imprisoned was so dilapidated and rat-infested that there 
was no refuge from these repulsive vermin by day or by night. 



528 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXVII. 

January 14. The Emperor, notwithstanding his health was severely suf- 
fering, proposed to remain in the seclusion of his room rather than ride out 
under the guard of an English officer, or expose himself to the indignity of 
being stoj^ped and turned back bj a sentinel. Dr. O'Meara, anxious for his 
patient, whose strength was rapidly failing, made inquiries of Brigade Major 
Harrison, who was stationed at Hut's Gate, if any alteration had been made 
in the orders so as to allow Napoleon to pass the picket at that gate, and to go 
round by Miss Mason's and Woody Range unaccompanied by a British officer. 
Major Harrison replied that no change of orders to that effect had been given, 
and that, if he attempted to j^ass, he would be stopped by the sentinel. 

January 21. Dr. O'Meara informed the Emperor that he had a book en- 
titled " The Secret Amours of Napoleon Bonaparte." The Emperor smiled, 
and wished him to bring the book, saying, " It will, at least, make me laugh." 

As the Emperor glanced his eye over the book, he often laughed heartily 
at the absurd stories, and remarked, in conclusion, 

" There is not a single word of truth in these anecdotes, l^^ven the names 
of the greatest number of the females are unknown to me." 

January 26. The Emperor had not been out of his dilapidated and gloomy 
rooms for more than nine weeks. On the 17th of this month a son was born 
to Madam Bertrand. The Emperor had often inquired for her very affection- 
ately, and to-day he paid her a visit. As he complimented her upon her 
beautiful child, the countess remarked, 

" I have the honor to present to your majesty the first Frenchman who, 
since your arrival, has entered Longwood without Lord Bathurst's permis- 
sion." 

January 27. The Emperor was suffering much from headache and sleep- 
lessness. He, however, entered into a long conversation with Dr. O'Meara. 
The doctor inquired if he really had intended to invade England. 

"It was my firm intention to do so," said the Emperor, "and I should 
have headed the expedition myself. I had given orders for two fleets to pro- 
ceed to the West Indies. Instead of remaining there, they were merely to 
show themselves among the islands, and return directly to Europe, raise the 
blockade of Ferrol, take the ships out, proceed to Brest, where there were 
about forty sail of the line, unite and sail to the Channel, where they would 
not have met with any thing strong enough to engage them, and clear it of 
all English men-of-war. By false intelligence, adroitly managed, I calcu- 
lated that you would have sent squadrons to the East and West Indies and 
Mediterranean in searcli of my fleets. Before they could return, I would 
have had the command of the Channel for two months, as I should have had 
about seventy sail of the line, besides frigates. 

" I would have hastened over my flotilla with two hundred thousand men, 
landed as near Chatham as possible, and proceeded direct to London, where 
I calculated to arrive in four days from the time of my landing. I would 
have proclaimed a republic (I was First Consul then), the abolition of the 
nobility and House of Peers, the distribution of the property of such of the 
latter as opposed me among my partisans, liberty, equality, and tlic sover- 



1817, January.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 529 

eignty of the people. I would have allowed the House of Commons to re- 
main, but would have introduced a great reform. I would have published a 
proclamation declaring that we came as friends to the English, and to free 
the nation from a corrupt and flagitious aristocracy, and restore a popular 
form of government — a democracy, all which would have been confirmed by 
the conduct of my army, as I would not have allowed the slightest outrage 
to be committed by my troops. Marauding or ill-treating the inhabitants, 
or the most trifling infringement of my orders, I would have punished with 
instant death. I think," continued he, "that with my promises, together 
with what I would actually have effected, I should have had the support of 
a great many. In a large city like London, where there are so many canaille 
and so many disaffected, I should have been joined by a formidable body. I 
would, at the same time, have excited an insurrection in Ireland." 

O'Meara observed that his army would have been destroyed piecemeal; 
that he would have had a million of men in arms against him in a short time ; 
and, moreover, that the English would have burned London rather than have 
suffered it to fall into his hands. 

'-No, no," said Napoleon, "I do not believe it. You are too rich and too 
fond of money. A nation will not so readily burn its capital. How often 
have the Parisians sworn to bury themselves under the ruins of their capi- 
tal, rather than suffer it to fall into the hands of the enemies of France ? and 
yet twice it has been taken. There is no knowing what would have hap- 
pened, Mr. Doctor. Neither Mr. Pitt, nor you, nor I, could have foretold 
what would have been the result. The hope of a change for the better, and 
of a division of property, would have operated wonderfully among the people, 
especially that of London. The people of all rich nations are nearly alike. 
I would have made such promises as would have had a great effect. What 
resistance could an undisciplined army make against mine in a country like 
England, abounding in plains ? I considered all you have said, but I calcu- 
lated on the effect that would be produced by the possession of a great and 
rich capital, the bank and all your riches, the ships in the river and at Chat- 
ham. 

" I expected that I should have had the command of the Channel for two 
months, by which I should have had supplies of troops ; and when your fleet 
came back, they would have found their capital in the hands of an enemy, 
and their country overwhelmed by my armies. I would have abolished flog- 
ging, and promised your seamen every thing, which would have made a great 
impression upon their minds. The proclamations stating that we came only 
as fi-iends, to relieve the English from an obnoxious and despotic aristocracy, 
whose object was to keep the nation eternally at war, in order to enrich 
themselves and their families with the blood of the people, together with the 
proclaiming a republic, the abolition of the monarchical government and the 
nobility, the declaration of the forfeiture of the property of such of the latter 
as should resist, and its division among the partisans of the Revolution, with 
a general equalization of property, would have gained me the support of the 
canaille, and of all the idle, the profligate, and the disaffected in the kingdom. 

Ll 



530 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXYII. 

" If," continued the Emperor, " I were at the head of affairs in England, 1 
would devise some means of paying off the national debt. I would appropri- 
ate to that purpose the whole of the Church livings except a tenth, always 
excepting those whose incomes were moderate, in a manner that the salary 
of the highest among the clergy should not exceed eight hundred or a thou- 
sand a year. What business have those priests with such enormous in- 
comes ? They should follow the directions of Jesus Christ, who ordered that, 
as pastors to the people, they should set an example of moderation, human- 
ity, virtue, and poverty, instead of wallowing in riches, luxury, and sloth." 

O'Meara made some observations upon the intolerance which had been 
manifested on some occasions by the Catholics. 

"The inability," the Emperor replied, " to rise above a certain rank, and 
to be members of Parliament, and other persecutions, once removed from 
your Catholic brethren, you will lind that they will be no longer intolerant 
or fanatical. Fanaticism is always the child of persecution. That intoler- 
ance which you complain of is also the result of your oppressive laws. Re- 
move them once, and put them on a similar footing with the Protestants, and 
in a few years you will find the spirit of intolerance disappear. Do as I did 
in France with the Protestants." 

January 30. Though the governor had again and again promised to refer 
the difficulties between himself and his illustrious prisoner to the mediation 
of Admiral Malcolm, he was ever finding pretexts to refuse to keep his prom- 
ise. The Emperor could not enjoy a ride without being dogged by an En- 
glish officer, to remind him constantly that he was a captive, and to report 
all his words. lie was thus compelled, in self-respect, to shut himself up in 
the solitude of his room. His health failed, his spirits sank, and life became 
almost an intolerable burden. To-day he said, indignantly, to Dr. O'Meara, 

" Tell the governor that, in consequence of his conduct in having accepted 
the proposed intermediation of the admiral, declaring that he would -charge 
the admiral with it, and afterward doing nothing, I conceive him to be a man 
without word and without fixith ; that ' he has broken his word with me, 
broken a compact which is lield sacred by robbers and Bedouin Arabs, but 
not by the agents of the British ministers. Tell him that when a man ha? 
lost his word, he has lost every thing which distinguishes the man from the 
brute. Tell him that he has forfeited that distinction, and that I hold him 
to be inferior to the robber of the desert. Independent," continued he, " of 
his conduct with respect to the admiral, he has broken his Avord about the 
limits. He charged you to inform me that we were permitted to ride any 
where through the old bounds, and specifically named the path by Miss Ma- 
son's. Now Gourgaud went a few days ago and asked the question from 
the major at Hut's Gate, who told him that he could not pass, and that no 
change had been made in the orders by the governor." 

January 31. Dr. O'Meara had a long interview with the governor, en- 
deavoring to induce him to mitigate some of his cruel restrictions. Tlu 
governor closed the conversation by saying, 

" I can not think of allowing General Bonaparte's ofiicers to run about 



1817, February.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 531 

the countiy telling lies of me as Las Casas and Montholon have done. Gen- 
eral Bonaparte would be much better if he had not such liars as Montholon, 
and such a blubbering, whining son of a b — h as Bertrand about him." 

It is not strange that the Emperor's stomach refused a cup of coffee upon 
which the shadow of such a man had fallen. 

The governor then added, " The restrictions imposed are not ordered by 
the ministers. No minute details are given. It is left to my judgment, and 
I take what measures I think proper, and do as I like. I am ordered to take 
particular care that he does not escape. The rest is left to myself." 



CHAPTER XXXYIII. 

1817, February. 



Message from the Governor — Remarks of the Emperor upon his Treatment — Russia and the Em- 
peror Paul — On the Invasion of India — Designs of Alexander — The Ambigu — The Return from 
Elba — Character of the French — Newspapers withheld from the Emperor — Vigilance with 
which the Emperor was guarded — Blunders of Lord Castlereagh — The Botanist who had seen 
Maria Louisa. 

February 1. Dr. O'Meara, by request of Sir Hudson Lowe, informed the 
Emperor that the governor was very busy in ascertaining how far his in- 
structions would enable him to comply with the wishes of General Bonaparte ; 
" that when he has finished this business, he will have no objection to au- 
thorize the admiral, or any other person General Bonaparte may think proper, 
to act the part of an intermediator, although the intermediation of any person 
will have no influence whatever in inducing the governor to grant more or 
less than he would do of his own free will and judgment." 

When this was given to the Emperor, he said, 

" I maintain that his last restrictions are. worse than any in force at Bot- 
any Bay, because even there it is not attempted to prohibit people from 
speaking. It is useless for him to endeavor to persuade us that we have not 
been ill treated by him. We are not simpletons or ordinary people. There 
is not a free-born man whose hair would not stand on end with horror on 
reading such an atrocious proceeding as that prohibition against speaking. 
His assertion that it was intended as civility is a mockery, and adds irony 
and insult to injury. I know well that, if he really intended to grant any 
thing, it is in his power to do so without a mediator. It was a mark of im- 
becility in him to have accepted the proposition ; but, having once accepted 
it, he ought not to have broken his word. Sometimes I believe that he is an 
executioner who has come to assassinate me ; but most probably he is a man 
of incapacity and without heart, who does not comprehend his office." 

In the afternoon Dr. O'Meara saw the governor, and spoke to him of the 
deplorable condition of the health of Napoleon. He informed him that, on 
the bleak heights of Longwood, it was generally a matter of great difficulty, 
and often quite impossible, to obtain the necessary quantity of water for a 
bath. Sir Hudson Lowe brutally replied, 



532 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXVIII. 

" I do not know what right General Bonaparte has to steio himself in hot 
water so nii^ny liours, and so often, when the 53d regiment can scarcely pro- 
cure enough water to cook their victuals." 

Fehruai'D 3. Dr. O'Meara, hy request of Sir Hudson Lowe, informed the 
Emperor that, in prohibiting him fi-om speaking to any whom he might meet, 
the governor intended an act of civility, as it would prevent the necessity of 
the interference of an English officer. 

The Emperor replied, 

" I would give two miEions that those restrictions were signed by the En- 
glish ministry, in order to show to Europe what base, tyrannical, and dishon- 
orable acts they are capable of, and the manner in which they have fulfilled 
the promises they have made of treating me well. x\ccording to law, this 
governor has no right to impose any restrictions upon me. The bill, illegal 
and iniquitous as it is, says that I shall be subject to such restrictions as the 
ministers think fit and necessary, but it does not say that they shall have the 
power to delegate that authority to any other person. Therefore, every re- 
striction laid upon me ought not only to be signed by a minister, but, prop- 
erly speaking, by all the ministers assembled. 

"It is possible," continued Napoleon, "that part of his bad treatment 
arises from his imbecility and his fear, for he is a man who has no elevation 
of character. He has a little cunning and much imbecility. It is an injury 
to his nation, and an indignity and insult to the Emperor of Austria, to the 
Emperor of Russia, and to all those sovereigns whom I have conquered and 
treated with. 

"I had paid your nation," continued the Emperor, "a gi'eat compliment, 
and showed what a high sense I entertained of the English honor, by giving 
myself up to them, after so many years' war, in preference to my father-in- 
law or to my old friend. The English would have been my greatest friends 
had I remained in France. United, we could have conquered the world. 
The confidence which I placed in the English shows what an opinion I en- 
tertained of them, and what steps I would have taken to have rendered such 
a nation my friends. And I should have succeeded. There is nothing that 
I would not have sacrificed to have been in friendship with them. They 
were the only nation I esteemed. 

"As to the Russians, Austrians, and others, I had no esteem for them. 
Now I am sorry to see that I en"ed in opinion ; for, had I given myself up 
to the Emperor of Austria, he, however he might differ with me in politics, 
and think it necessary to dethrone me, would have embraced me closely as a 
friend, and have treated me with every kindness ; so also would my old 
friend, the Emperor of Russia. The treatment of the Calabrese to Murat 
was humanity compared to what I endure, as the Calabrese soon finished 
Murat's misery ; but here they torture me to death by pin-pricks. I think 
that your own nation will feel very little obliged to this governor for having 
conferred upon it a dishonor which will be recorded in history ; for you are 
proud, and have the honor of your nation more at heart than even your mon- 
ey. Witness the thousands that your lords throw away anniially in France 



1817, Februaiy.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 533 

and in other parts of the Continent, to raise and exalt the English name. 
Many of your nobility and others would voluntarily have subscribed thou- 
sands to have prevented the stigma which this imbecille has brought upon 
your nation." 

February 7. Sir Hudson Lowe, in a long conversation with Dr. O'Meara, 
suggested that he might perhaps consent to an extension of the Emperor's 
limits by receiving a pledge that he would not enter any house unless accom- 
panied by an English officer. "There is a great difference," said he, "be- 
tween limits for exercise and limits for correspondence." O'Meara commu- 
nicated this to the Emperor. After some further conversation with Dr. 
O'Meara, the Emperor said, 

" Communicate to the governor that, if he will send a list to Count Ber- 
trand of the houses within the limits which he is unwilling that I should 
visit, I will not enter them. If, on the other hand, he sends me a list of 
the houses he loill permit tne to enter, I can not accept it, for then I should 
seem to be visiting by his permission. Tell him this, although I am sure 
that it is some shuffling trick on his part, and will come to nothing. 

" I think that it is owing to some small remains of the influence of my 
star that the English have treated me so iU ; at least, that this man, whom 
they have sent out as governor, has conducted himself in such a brutal man- 
ner. At least posterity will avenge me." 

February 10. Dr. O'Meara informed Napoleon that he had communicated 
his desires to Sir Hudson Lowe, who had promised to talk the matter over 
with Count Bertrand. 

Napoleon replied, " You may depend upon it that it will end in nothing. 
It is merely to deceive you. He will act as he has done in that affair with 
the admiral." 

February 12. Dr. O'Meara, anxious for his patient, again saw the govern- 
or relative to the enlargement of the Emperor's limits. The governor would 
by no means consent to allow the Emperor to enter such houses as he was 
not 2^'^'ohibited from entering. He said that the Emperor must have some 
deep design in this plan. Dr. O'Meara seemed much mortified at this result, 
and intimated to the governor that it would afford Napoleon a foundation for 
another charge of shuffling. Sir Hudson gave his ever-ready reply, " Tell 
General Bonaparte that he may consider himself very fortunate in having so 
good a man as myself to deal with." 

When Dr. O'Meara communicated to the Emperor the result, he said, 

"Do not bring me any more communications or propositions from Sir 
Hudson Lowe. He is a liar, a man of insinuations, like the petty tyrants of 
Italy. There is nothing English about him. He is rabid to tease and to 
torment." 

February 14. O'Meara breakfasted with Napoleon. The Emperor spoke 
of Russia. "If Paul had lived," said he, "there would have been a peace 
with England in a short time, as you would not have been long able to con- 
tend with the united northern powers. I wrote to Paul to continue build- 
ing ships, and to endeavor to unite the north against you ; not to hazard any 



534 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXVIII. 

battles, as the English would gain them, but allow you to exhaust yourselves, 
and by all means to get a large fleet into the Mediterranean." 

O'Meara inquired if he thought that Paul had been insane. "Latterly," 
said Napoleon, "I believe that he was. At first he was strongly prejudiced 
against the Revolution and every person concerned in it, but afterward I had 
rendered him reasonable, and had changed his opinions altogether. If Paul 
had lived, you Avould have lost India before now. An agreement was made 
between Paul and myself to invade it. I furnished the plan. I was to have 
sent thirty thousand good troops. He was to send a similar number of the 
best Russian soldiers, and forty thousand Cossacks. I was to subscribe ten 
millions for the purchase of camels and other requisites for crossing the des- 
ert. The King of Prussia was to have been applied to by both of us to grant 
a passage for my troops through his dominions, which would have been im- 
mediately granted. I had, at the same time, made a demand to the King of 
Persia for a passage through his country, which would also have been grant- 
ed, although the negotiations were not entirely concluded, but would have 
succeeded, as the Persians were desirous of profiting by it themselves." 

O'Meara asked if it were true that Alexander had intended to have seized 
upon Turkey. 

Napoleon answered, " All his thouglits are directed to the conquest of Tur- 
key. We have had many discussions about it ; at first I was pleased with 
his proposals, because I thought it would enlighten the world to drive those 
brutes, the Turks, out of Europe. But when I reflected upon the conse- 
quences, and saAV what a tremendous weight of power it would give to Rus- 
sia, on account of the numbers of Greeks in the Turkish dominions who 
w^ould naturally join the Russians, I refused to consent to it, especially as 
^Mexander wanted to get Constantinople, which I would not allow, as it -^ 
Avould have destroyed the equilibrium of power in Europe. I reflected that 
France would gain Egypt, Syria, and the islands, which would have been 
notliing in comparison with what Russia would have obtained. I consider- 
ed that the barbarians of the north were already too powerful, and probably, 
in the course of time, would overwhelm all Euroj^e, as I now think they will. 

" Austria abeady trembles. Russia and Prussia united, Austria falls, and 
England can not prevent it. France, under the present family, is notliing, 
and the Austrians are so mean-spirited that they will be easily overpowered. 
They are a nation that may be ruled with blows. They will offer little re- 
sistance to the Russians, who are brave and patient. Russia is the more 
formidable, because she can never disarm. In Russia, once a soldier, al- 
ways a soldier — barbarians, who, one may say, have no country, and to 
whom every country is better than the one which gave them birth. When 
I am dead and gone, my memory will be esteemed, and I shall be revered in 
consequence of having foreseen, and endeavored to put a stop to, that which 
wiU yet take place. It will be revered when the barbarians of the north will 
possess Europe, which would not have happened had it not been for you, 
sit'S Englishmen.'''' 

Had Napoleon succeeded in his intention of re-establishing Poland and 



1817, February.] 



RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



535 



making the noble Poniatowski king, Europe would have been saved from 
many wars which must now probably be encountered. 




DEATH OF PONIATOWSKI. 



Napoleon expressed great anxiety relative to Count Montholon, as the 
governor had made some insinuations that his removal was in contempla- 
tion. 

" I should feel," continued he, " the loss of Montholon most sensibly, as, 
independent of his attachment to me, he is most useful, and endeavors to an- 
ticipate all my wants. I know that it would grieve him much to leave me, 
though, in truth, it would render him a great service if he were removed from 
this desolate place, and restored to the bosom of his friends, as he is not pro- 
scribed, and has nothing to fear in France. Moreover, being of a noble fam- 
ily, he might readily find favor with the Bourbons, if he chose." 



536 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXVIII. 

Sir Hudson Lowe now sent word to the Emperor that lie could not allow 
him to enter any house whatever unaccompanied by an English officer, 

February 17. A new magazine, The Arahigu, had been started in Europe, 
which was full of abuse of Napoleon. Sir Hudson Lowe gave several num- 
bers to Dr. O'Meara, and wished him to hand them to the Emperor. The 
doctor informed the Emperor that he had the periodical, but that it was very 
abusive. Napoleon smiled and said, 

" Children only care for abuse. Bring them to me." As his eye fell 
upon the name of the editor, he said, " Ah, Pelletier ! He has been libel- 
ing me these twenty years ; but I am very glad to get them." He after- 
ward remarked to O'Meara, " I find the Ambigu very interesting, although 
it contains many falsehoods and absurdities.- I have been reading the ac- 
count of the battle of Waterloo contained in it, Avhich is nearly correct. I 
have been considering who could have been the author. It must have been 
some person about me. Had it not been for the imbecility of Grouchy, I 
should have gained that day." 

Speaking of his return from Elba, he said, " The enthusiasm was aston- 
ishing. I might have entered Paris at the head of four hundred thousand 
men, if I had liked. What is still more surprising, and, I believe, unparal- 
leled in history, is that it was effected without any conspiracy. There was 
no plot, no understanding with any of the generals in Erance. Not one of 
them knew my intentions. 

"There never was yet," continued Napoleon, "a king who was more the 
sovereign of the peo2)lG than I was. If I were not possessed of the smallest 
talent, I could reign easier in France than Louis and the Bourbons, endowed 
with the greatest abilities. The mass of the French nation hate the old no- 
bles and the priests. I have not sj)ning from the ancienne noblesse, nor 
have I ever too much encouraged the priests. The French nation have pre- 
dominant in them vanity, levity, independence, and caprice, with an uncon- 
querable passion for glory. They will as soon do without bread as without 
glory, and a proclamation will lead them. Unlike England, where the in- 
habitants of a w^iole county may be inflamed by, and will follow the opinion 
of two or three noble families, they must be themselves courted. 

"Some young and ignorant j)easants," continued Napoleon, "who were 
born since the devolution, were conversing Avith some older and better-in- 
formed men about the Bourbons. ' Who are those Bourbons ?' said one. 
' What are they like ?' ' Why,' replied one of the older men, ' they are like 
that old ruined chateau which you see near our village : like it, their time is 
past and gone ; they are no longer of the age.' 

"The Bourbons will find," added he, " that their caressing the marshals 
and generals will not answer. They must caress the peo]}le. To them they 
must address themselves. Unless they adopt some measures to render them- 
selves popular, you will sge a terrible explosion burst forth in France. The 
nation Avill never bear to live debased and humiliated as it is at present. 
When I hear of a nation living without bread, then I will believe that the 
French will exist without glory." 



1817, Februarj.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 537 

Napoleon then made some remarks upon Longwood, expressed his sur- 
prise that some person had not made a contract to bring a supply of water 
to it and to the camp, stipulating that he should he permitted to establish a 
garden in the valley, by means of which a sufficiency of vegetables might be 
produced at a cheap rate, not only for Longwood and the camp, but also for 
the ships. 

" Here," continued he, " if water were brought by a conduit, Novarre, with 
the help of two or three Chinese, would produce a sufficiency of the vegeta- 
bles which we so much want. How preferable would it be to dispose of the 
public money in conducting water to those poor soldiers in camp, than in dig- 
ging ditches and throwing up fortifications around this house, just as if an 
army were coming to attack it ! A man who has no regard for his soldiers 
ought never to have a command. The greatest necessity of the soldier is 
water." 

" Sir Thomas Reade," says Dr. O'Meara, " made a long harangue this day 
upon the impropriety of allowing Bonaparte any newspapers unless such as 
had previously been inspected by the governor." 

February 18. " Saw Sir Hudson Lowe," Dr. O'Meara records, " at Plan- 
tation House. Found him busied in examining some newspapers for Long- 
wood, several of which he put aside as not being, in his opinion, proper to 
be sent to Napoleon, observing to me, at the same time, 'that, hoAvever 
strange it might appear, General Bonaparte ought to be obliged to him for 
not sending him newspapers indiscriminately, as the perusal of articles writ- 
ten in his own favor might excite hopes which, when not ultimately realized, 
could not fail to afflict him ; that, moreover, the British government thought 
it improper to let him know every thing that appeared in the newspapers.' " 

February 19. " Sir Thomas Reade," says Dr. O'Meara, "was very busy 
in circulating reports in the town that ' General Bonaparte was sulky and 
would see nobody ; that the governor was too good, and that the villain ought 
to be put in chains.' " 

February 20. Napoleon passed a sleepless night. Restless and languid, 
he rose at five o'clock and paced his solitary room. Soldiers, with loaded 
muskets and fixed bayonets, were stationed before his door and beneath his 
windows. One hundred and thirty-five sentinels surrounded the grounds by 
day and by night. A regiment of soldiers were intrenched within gun-shot 
of his door. All the forts of the island were thoroughly equipped and man- 
ned, as if there were danger that this one dreaded captive would seize the 
island. Ships of war cruised along the shores to prohibit any vessel from 
approaching. But even all these precautions were not deemed sufficient. A 
store-ship had now arrived, loaded with a heavy iron railing, that Longwood 
might henceforth be surrounded by an impassable picket. 

When O'Meara called he found the Emperor alone, reclining upon his sofa, 
languid and depressed. He looked up, and with a faint voice saluted the 
doctor. In conversation he gradually became animated, and said, adverting 
to the commercial distress of England, 

"Lord Castlereagh deserves the reprobation of the EngHsh nation for the 



538 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXVIII. 

little care wliicli lie took of their interests at the time of the general peace. 
The misfortunes which Tbefell me gave such an ascendency to England that 
almost any demand made by her would have been granted, independent of 
the 7'i(//ii which she had to claim a recompense for tlie vast expense which 
she had been at. An opportunity offered itself, which probably will never 
occur again, for England to recover and extricate herself from all her diffi- 
culties in a few years, and to relieve her from the immense load of debt which 
weighs her down. 

" I see no other way now," continued he, " to extricate you from your dif- 
ficulties than by reducing the interest of the national debt, confiscating the 
greatest part of the revenues of the clergy, all the sinecures, diminishing con- 
siderably the army, and establishing a system of reduction altogether. Let ; 
those who want priests pay them. Your sinking fund is a humbug. Im- 
pose ft heavy tax upon absentees. It is too late now for you to make com- 
mercial treaties. What would t/um. have been considered as only just and 
reasonable would now be thought far different. The opportunity is gone, 
and the nation is indebted to your imbecilles of ministers for all the calami- 
ties which will befall it, and wliicli are solely to be attributed to their crim- 
inal neglect." 

"I understand," said he, "that the botanist* is on the eve of departure 
without having seen me. In the most barbarous countries it would not be 
prohibited, even to a prisoner under sentence of death, to have the consolation 
of conversing with a person who had lately seen his wife and child. Even in 
that worst of courts, the Revolutionary Tribunal of France, such an instance 
of barbarity and of callousness to all feeling was never known ; and your na- 
tion, which is so much cried up for liberality, permits such treatment. I am 
informed that this botanist has made application to see me, which was re- 
fused ; and in my letter to Las Casas, which was read by the governor, I 
complained of it as a hardship, and thereby made application to see him. If 
I had asked it in any other manner, I should have exposed myself to the in- 
sult of a refasal from this wretch. It is the height of cruelty. He must 
indeed be a barbarian who would deny to a husband and a father the con- 
solation of discoursing with a person who had lately seen, spoken to, and 
touched his wife, his child" [here Napoleon's voice faltered], " from whose 
embraces he is forever separated by the cruel policy of a few. The Anthro- 
pophagi of the South Seas would not practice it. Previous to devouring their 
victims, they would allow them the consolation of seeing and conversing 
with each other. The cruelties which are practiced here would be disavow- 
ed by cannibals." 

Napoleon now walked up and down for some time, much agitated. Aft- 
erward he proceeded : " You see the manner in which he endeavors to impose 
upon the passengers going to England, that he may make them believe he is 
aU goodness to me, and that it is all my own fault if I do not receive stran- 

* " Napoleon had been informed," says O'Meara, " and I believe with truth, that this gentleman 
had seen and conversed with the Empress and her son a short time before he left Germany for 
St. Helena." 



1817, March.] RESIDENCE AT LOx\GWOOD. 539 

gers. His object now is to impress upon the minds of the public that I hate 
the sight of an Enghshman. That is the reason he desired you to tell me 
that Las Casas had made me saj that I abhorred the sight of the English 
uniform." 

O'Meara observed that Sir Hudson Lowe had also told him that he con- 
ceived it to be an invention of Las Casas. 

"It is an invention of his own," replied the Emperor, " in order to impose 
upon you. If I had hated the English, should I have given myself up to 
them, instead of going to the Emperor of Russia or of Austria ? Is it pos- 
sible that I could have given a greater proof of esteem for a nation than that 
which I have done for the English — unfortunately for myself?" 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

1817, March. 

False Assertion of Lord Castlereagli — O'Meara's previous Estimate of the Emperor — Napoleon's 
Confidence in the Verdict of Posterity — The Libels of Pelletier — The iron Railing — The Distress 
in England — Napoleon's Proposition to assume an Incognito — Warden's Book — Prince Regent 
— Montchenu — The Bookseller Palm — The New Testament — Conduct of the Governor — Talley- 
rand — Remarks on Egypt — Menou — The Secret Memoirs — Uniting the Nations. 

March 2. Dr. O'Meara found the Emperor lying upon his sofa, low-spir- 
ited and pale, and suffering from sickness. He, however, declined medicine, 
and would receive only chicken-broth and barley-water. The Emperor had 
been reading an English journal, and remarked, 

" In the papers they make me serve for all purposes, and say whatever 
suits their views. Lord Castlereagh, on his return to Ireland, publicly as- 
serted a falsehood relative to what had been my intentions upon England, 
and put expressions into my mouth since my arrival here which I never 
made use of." 

O'Meara observed that, in all probability. Lord Castlereagh had been in- 
formed that he had said so. 

Napoleon replied, " It may be ; but your ministers have little scruple in 
having recourse to falsehood when they think it will forward any object they 
have in view. It is always dishonorable and base to belie the unfortunate, 
and doubly so when in your power, and when you hold a padlock upon the 
mouth to prevent a reply." 

March 3. " Saw Napoleon dressing," says O'Meara. . " He was free from 
any complaint. Laughed and quizzed me about some young ladies, and 
asked me to give all the little news of the town. Appeared to be in better 
spirits than he had been for a long time. Had some further conversation rel- 
ative to the governor's declaration that Count Las Casas had, in his journal, 
made Napoleon say that he abhorred the sight of the British uniform, and 
his excellency's assertion that Las Casas had endeavored to make him hate 
the English." 

"I can not conceive," said Napoleon, "what object Las Casas could have 



540 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXIX. 

in view "by doing so. What could he gain by it ? On tlie contrary, Las 
Casas always spoke well of the English ; said that he had been ten years 
amon'^ tlieni, and had been ahvays Avell treated. It is an invention of tliis 
man's, wliose whole superstructure is built upon falsehood. I said, certain- 
ly, that I did not like to see officers in uniform closely attending or watch- 
ino- me, because the uniform reminded me that I Avas considered as a pris- 
oner, and gave rise to unpleasant reilections. If even you were to come into 
my apartment every day in your uniform, it would give me the idea of your 
being a gendarme. But this man has no delicacy of appreciation. The ad- 
miral had, and immediately understood the delicacy of it when it was men- 
tioned to him." 

While Avalkino- about the room, he said cheerfully to the doctor, " What 
sort of a man did you take me to be before you became my surgeon ? What 
did you think of my cliaracter, and what I Avas capable of? Give me your 
real opinion frankly." 

0*]\leara replied, "I thought you to be a man Avhose stupendous talents 
were only to be equaled by your measureless ambition ; and although I did 
not give credit to one tenth part of the libels Avhich I had read against you, 
still I believed that you would not hesitate to commit a crime when you 
found it to be necessary, or thought it might be useful to you." 

" This is just the ansAver that I expected," replied Napoleon, " and is, per- 
haps, the opinion of Lord Holland, and even of numbers of the French. I 
have risen to too great a pitch of human glory and elcA'ation not to have ex- 
cited the envy and jealousy of mankind. They Avill say, ' It is true that he 
has raised himself to the highest pinnacle of glory, but to attain it he has 
committed many crimes.' Xoav the fact is that I not only ncA^er committed 
any crimes, but I never even thought of doing so. I liaA'e always gone Avith 
the opinion of great masses and Avith events. I have always made little ac- 
count of the opinion of individuals, of that of the public a great deal. Of 
AA'hat use, then, Avould crime have been to me ? I am too much a fatalist, 
and have ahvays despised mankind too much to have had recourse to crime 
to frustrate their attempts. I liave ahvays marched Avith the opinion of tiA'C 
or six millions of men. Of what use, then, Avould crime have been to me ? 

" In spite of all libels," continued he, " I have no fear Avhatever about my 
fame. Posterity Avill do me justice. The truth Avill be knoAvn, and the good 
that I have done, Avith the faults I have committed, Avill be compared. I 
am not imeasy for the result. Had I succeeded, I should have died Avith 
the reputation of the greatest man that ever existed. As it is, although I 
have tailed, I shall be copsidered as an extraordinary man. My elevation 
was unparalleled, because unaccompanied by crime. I haA'e fought fifty 
pitched battles, almost all of AAdiich I have gained. I have framed and car- 
ried into effect a code of laws that Avill bear my name to the most distant 
posterity. From nothing I raised myself to be the most poAverful monarch 
in the Avorld. Europe Avas at my feet. My ambition AA'as great, I admit, 
but it Avas of a cold nature, and caused by events and the opinion of great 
bodies. 



1817, March.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 

" I have always been of opinion that the sovereignty lay in the 
In fact, the imperial government was a kind of republic. Called to th^ 
of it by the voice of tlie nation, my maxim was, la carriere ouverte aux 
talens (the career open to talents), without distinction of birth or fortune, and 
this system of equality is the reason that your oligarchy hate me so much. 

"It is not," added Napoleon, " by what the Quarterly Review or Pichon 
says, or by what I could write myself, that posterity will jiidge of me. It 
is by the voice of so many millions of inhabitants who have been under my 
government. Those who consented to the union of Poland with Russia will 
be the execration of posterity, while my name will be pronounced with re- 
spect when the fine southern countries of Europe are a prey to the barbari- 
ans of the North. Perhaps my greatest fault was not having deprived the 
King of Prussia of his throne, which I might easily have done." 

March 4. The Emperor was in good health and cheerful spirits. He re- 
turned to Dr. O'Meara the numbers of The Ambigu for 1816, and desired 
him to obtain the numbers for 1815. O'Meara made some inquiries respect- 
ing the editor, Pelletier. 

"Pelletier," said the Emperor, "is a miscreant who would write for any 
body that would pay him. He made ofters to me to change his style, and 
write for me in such a manner that the British government would not be 
aware that he was employed by me. One time, in particular, he sent to the 
police a manuscript copy of a book written against me, with an offer that it 
should not be printed provided he were paid a certain sum of money. This 
was made known to me. I ordered the police to answer that, if he paid the 
expenses of printing, the work should be published in Paris for him. He was 
not the only one who made offers of the kind to me when I was in power. 
Some of the editors of the English newspapers made similar advaiices, and 
declared that they could render me most essential services, but I theii did 
not attach sufficient importance to their offers, and refused them.. 

" When I was on the throne," continued he, " there were thirty clerks em- 
ployed in translating English newspapers, and in making extracts from En- 
glish works of merit. Matters which appeared of importance were extracted 
from the newspapers, and daily submitted to me. But I never had it done 
in my presence, or endeavored to accompany the translator in his progress, 
as has been asserted." 

Sir Hudson Lowe sent word to Longwood of his intention of putting an 
iron railing around the house, the gates to which he should cause to be locked 
at seven or eight o'clock in the evening, and the keys to be sent to Planta- 
tion House, where they should remain till daybreak the next morning. At 
the. same time, it was pretended that this iron railing was merely an orna- 
mental fence to keep out the cattle. 

March 5. The Tortoise store-ship arrived from England. It brought pa- 
pers containing extracts from a work published by Dr. Warden, surgeon on 
board the JVbrthu7nberland, respecting the Emperor. When Dr. O'Meara 
called at Longwood, he found the Emperor reclining on his sofa in a very 
pensive attitude, his head resting upon one of his hands, and apparency sunk 



542 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ClIAP. XXXIX. 

in deep melancholy. His morning-gown was on, a Madras handkerchief 
bound around his head, and his beard unshaved. In a desponding manner. 
Napoleon looked up and said, « 

"Is the ship from England? What news does it bring?" 

O'Meara replied that it came directly from England, and that a book had 
been published respecting the Emperor by Warden, of the Northumberland^ 
which had excited great interest. 

"What is the nature of the work?" inquired the Emperor. " Is it for or 
against me ? Is it well written ? What is the subject ?" 

The Emperor then, with the assistance of 0']\leara, read some extracts 
which were in the Observer. He perused very attentively an article whicli 
stated that the Empress Maria Louisa had fallen from her horse into the Po, 
and with difficulty had been saved from a watery grave. He appeared con- 
siderably affected by the perusal. 

Subsequently he conversed about the tumults in England, and the distress 
of the poorer classes. 

" Your ministers," said he, " are answerable for all the misery and the dis- 
tress of England, by their having neglected to take advantage of favorable 
circumstances to secure to the country great commercial advantages. In con- 
sequence of my misfortunes in Russia, successes unparalleled in the history 
of the world attended her, and, by the force of circumstances, an opportunity 
was afforded her of rendering herself the most flourishing and powerful na- 
tion in the world. I have always considered England to be in a dangerous 
state, in an unnatural state of over-exertion, and that, if some unforeseen cir- 
cumstance did not arise to succor her, she must sink under the pressure of 
the exertions she has made and the load of taxation. Such an opportunity 
has occurred^ but your ministers, like blockheads, havP'^not taken advant- 
age of it, but preferred paying their court to those kings to consulting the 
interests of their country. 

"It appears to me," continued he, "to be clearly the intention of your 
ministers to subject England to a military yoke, to put down by degrees the 
liberty which prevails there, and to render their own power unlimited. All 
those honors conferred upon the military, and the tenor of several other steps 
lately adopted, are only so many preliminaries toward it. I can discern 
their object. Assistance, if necessary, will probably be rendered by the oth- 
er sovereigns of Europe, who are jealous, and can not bear the idea that En- 
gland should be the only free nation in Europe. They will assist in putting 
you down." 

O'Meara observed that the English would never submit to be made a na- 
tion of slaves. 

The Emperor replied, " There is every appearance that the attempt will b(; 
made." 

The Tortoise brought, also, dispatches from Lord Bathurst to Sir Hudson 
Lowe. In the official documents of Sir Hudson Lowe, published in defense- 
of his conduct, it is said, 

" The French officers had flattered themselves that Sir Hudson Lowe's 



1817, March.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 543 

conduct was condemned hy the ministers. In a letter dated October, 1816, 
Lord Bathurst said, ' I am commanded to convey to you his royal highness' 
entire approbation of your conduct. On the subject of General Bonaparte's 
proposition [to assume an incognito), I probably shall not give you any in- 
struction. It appears harsh to refuse it, and there may arise much embar- 
rassment in formally acquiescing in it. You will not, therefore, encourage any 
renewal of the conversation. As the proposition was not made by authority, 
no official answer need be given.' " 

The advocate of Sir Hudson Lowe, who edits these documents, adds, "The 
embarrassment here alluded to by Lord Bathurst seems to have been that 
which might arise from a recognition of Bonaparte's right to assume an in- 
cognito, which is the privilege of monarchs ; for, as the British government 
firmly refused to acknowledge him as Emperor, they did not wish to sanction 
what appeared to be claimed as an incident of sovereignty." 

These are the men who have accused Napoleon of childishness in refusing 
to submit humbly to the insult. In tliis conflict Napoleon was true to his 
own lofty character. The English ministry had previously adopted the same 
course with. George Washington. Refusing to recognize the right of the peo- 
ple to choose him general-in-chief, they insultingly addressed him as '■'•George 
Washington, Esq., &c., &c., &c." Washington refused to receive any such 
letters, and returned them all unopened. Fortunately, he was not their cap- 
tive. As he had many English prisoners in his hands, and as it was neces- 
sary for them to communicate with him, they were compelled to recognize 
popular rights, and address Washington as general-in-chief. Napoleon also, 
though in his tomb, has triumphed. The successors of Bathurst, Castle- 
reagh, and Wellington are now compelled to say "the Emperor Napoleon." 
It would be indcv?^ amusing to hear them now talk of General Bonaparte ! 

Some broken numbers of the London Times were sent up to the Emper- 
or, and several of his companions received letters from their friends. Napo- 
leon, by the inhuman restrictions imposed upon him, was deban-ed from all 
intercourse with his family. He was not allowed to send his letters open 
through the Prince Regent. It was demanded that all his letters, and the 
answers to them, should be inspected by the petty despot at Longwood, whom 
he thoroughly despised. Self-respect would not allow him to submit to this. 
Though crushed by woe, he was firm through more than five long years, till 
his heart, in anguish, ceased to beat. 

The only tidings he obtained from his mother, his wife, his child, his 
brothers and sisters, during all these years of imprisonment, were from occa- 
sional items which he gleaned from the newspapers. His mind was much 
excited by the accident which Maria Louisa had encountered. With great 
eagerness he examined the broken numbers of the Times, to find some far- 
ther intelligence from those he loved so dearly. In the evening, in his in- 
tense solicitude, he sent again for Dr. O'Meara. 

" I am convinced," said he, " that the governor has kept back some letters 
and newspapers. I have no doubt that Sir Hudson Lowe received a com- 
plete series of papers, and that he has kept back some, according to his usual 



544 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXIX. 

brutal custom, because there might have been an article which would prove 
agreeable to me. 

"At first," said he, " I thought that there might have been some bad news 
of my wife ; but a moment's reflection taught me that, if so, this man would 
not have failed to send it directly, in order to afflict me. Perhaps there may 
be some news of my son. When you go to town to-morrow, endeavor to 
see a complete series of papers, and look attentively at them." 

March 10. The Emperor had been reading Warden's book, and appeared 
in cheerful spirits. Dr. O'Meara asked the Emperor's opinion of the work. 

He replied, " The foundation of it is true, but he has badly understood 
what was said to hiin, as in the work there are many mistakes, which must 
have arisen from bad explanation. Warden does not understand French. 
He has acted wrong in making me speak in the manner he has done ; for, 
instead of having stated that it had been conveyed through an interpreter, he 
puts down almost every thing as if I had been speaking to him all the time, 
and as if he could have understood me ; consequently, he has put into my 
mouth expressions unworthy of me, and not in my style. Any person who 
knows me will readily see that it is not my style. 

" In fact, most of what he has received through intei-pretation, and that 
composes a large portion of the work, is more or less incorrect. He has said 
that Massena had stormed the village of Esling thirteen times, which, if the 
work is translated into French, will make every French officer acquainted 
with the battle laugh, as Massena was not at that particular sj^ot during the 
whole of the action.* 

" What he says about the prisoners that had been made at Jaffa is also in- 
correct, as they were marched on twelve leagues in the direction of Bagdat, 
and not to Nazareth. They were Maugrabins from nel^ Algiers, and not 
natives of the country that he mentions. He is incorrect in stating that I 
proposed to give the sick opium. I did not propose it. It was first made 
by one of the medical officers. He is wrong in tlie explanation which he 
has given of the reason why I wished Wright to live. My principal reason 
was to be able to prove, as I told you before, by Wright's evidence, that * * * 
had caused assassins, hired by the Count d'Artois, to be landed in France, to 
murder me. This I thought I should have efiected by Wright's own evi- 
dence at a trial in presence of the embassadors of the powers in friendship 
with me. Now there was something glorious in Wright's death. He pre- 
ferred taking away his own life to compromising his government. 

"Shortly after Marengo," continued Napoleon, "Louis wrote a letter to 
me, which was delivered by the Abbe Montesquieu, in which he said that I 
delayed for a long time to restore him to his throne ; that the happiness of 
F'rance could never be complete without him, neither could the glory of the 
country be complete without me ; that one was as necessary to it as the 
other ; and concluded by desiring me to choose whatever I thought proper, 

* These remarks show how easily conversation may be misunderstood. Undoubtedly there are 
other remarks here attributed to the Emperor which do not precisely express the ideas he intended 
to convoy, but the general flow of conversation is too decided and strong for any misunderstanding. 



1817, March.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 545 

which would be granted under him, provided I restored to him his throne. I 
sent him back a very handsome answer, in which I stated that I was ex- 
tremely sorry for the misfortunes of himself and his family ; that I was ready 
to do every thing in my power to relieve them, and would interest myself 
about providing a suitable income for them, but that he might abandon the 
thought of ever returning to France as a sovereign, as that could not be ef- 
fected without his having passed over the bodies of five hundred thousand 
Frenchmen. 

" Warden has been incorrectly informed that Maret was privy to my re- 
turn to France. He knew nothing about it, and such a statement may in- 
jure his relations in France. He has acted also unguardedly in asserting 
matters upon the authority of Count and Countess Bertrand, as it may cause 
them many enemies. He ought to have said, ' I have been told at Long- 
wood.' As to his saying that the information came from me, I care not, as 
I fear nobody, but he ought to have been cautious about the others. 

"Warden," added he, "is a man of good intentions, and the foundation 
of his work is true, but many of the circumstances are incorrectly stated, in 
consequence of misconception and bad interpretation. Gourgaud was very 
angry yesterday about what was said of him. I told him that he ought to 
take example by me, and observe with what patience I bore the libels on 
me with which the press was overwhelmed ; that they had made me a poi- 
soner, an assassin, a violator, a monster who was guilty of incest and of 
every horrid crime ; that he ought to reflect upon this, and be silent. 

" I see," continued he, " by some answers in the Times, that the Morning 
Chronicle appears to defend me. What harm could it possibly be to let me 
see that paper — to let me read something favorable of myself ? It is very 
seldom that I now see any thing of the kind, but it is a cruelty to withhold 
so slender a consolation. 

"You recollect I told you that the English would change their opinion 
of me, and that, from the great intercourse they had with France and Italy, 
they would soon discover that I was not the horrid character they had be- 
lieved me to be ; and also that the English travelers, in returning from the 
countries which had been under my dominion, would bring back with them 
sentiments quite different from those with which they had set out. This is 
now beginning to take place, and will increase every day. Those people 
wiU say, 

"'We have been deceived. On the Continent we have heard none of 
those horrid stories ; on the contrary, wherever there was a fine road or a 
noble bridge, and we asked who made this, the answer has been Napoleon 
or Bonaparte.' They will naturally say, at least this man encouraged the 
arts and the sciences during his reign, and endeavored to facilitate and to 
increase the commerce of the countries under him. 

"Lord Castlereagh," continued he, "has been guilty of a base libel by 
having declared that I had said, since I came here, that, ' in peace or in war, 
I aimed at the destruction of England.' It is wholly false, and I shall make 
it a subject of complaint to his master, the Prince Regent, and expose to him 

Mm 



546 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXIX. 

the unworthy conduct of his minister — conduct degrading to the character 
of a man. It is always dishonorable and base publicly to insult and belie 
the unfortunate, especially when in your power, and at such a distance as to 
preclude the possibility of a reply. 

"Your ministers," said he, "reason thus for sending me to St. Helena. 
This Bonaparte is a man of talent, and has always been an enemy to England. 
The Bourbons are a set of imbecilles, and it is better for the English to have 
hnhecilles on the tlu'one of France than persons of talent ; for the former 
wiU not have the ability, though they may have the inclination, to do as much 
mischief to England as the latter. We must do every thing we can to keep 
down the French, who are our natural enemies ; and the best mode of effect- 
ing it is to place a set of fools upon the tin-one, who will occupy themselves 
in restoring the old sujDcrstition, ignorance, and prejudices of the nation, and 
consequently weaken instead of strengthening it. 

" They would have done better," continued he, " to have left me upon the 
throne. I would have given the English great commercial advantages, which 
the Bourbons dare not offer. Besides, it would have kept up the importance 
of tlie English on the Continent ; for the other powers, being afraid of me, 
would have made sacrifices to keep on good terms Avith them, in order to 
have them on their side, well knowing that, without their aid, they could do 
nothing against me ; whereas now, as they are not afraid of the Bourbons, 
they will set but little value upon the friendship of a power that they are 
jealous of and want to humble. Moreover, your ministers could always have 
held me up hi terrorcm to the people of England whenever they wanted to 
command the exertions of the nation." 

A few moments afterward Napoleon observed, " It is true, as has been 
stated in the papers, that the Belgians are sorry that the English gained the 
battle of Waterloo. Tliey considered themselves as Frenchmen, and, in truth, 
they were such. The greatest part of the nation loved me, and wished that 
I might succeed. The stories that your ministers have taken such pains to 
circulate respecting the nations that I had united to France having hated me 
and detested my tyranny, are all falsehoods. The Italians, Piedmontese, 
Belgians, and others are an example of what I say. You will receive here- 
after the opinions of those English who have visited the Continent. You 
will find that what I tell you is correct, and that millions in Europe now 
wee2:> for me. The Piedmontese preferred being as a province of France to 
being an independent kingdom under the King of Sardinia." 

March 12. At eleven o'clock in the morning Dr. O'Meara saw the Em- 
peror. He was in cheerful spirits, and very social. He spoke of the dis- 
tress which the journals announced as existing in England, and of the dis- 
turbance among the workmen. 

"The Prince Regent," said he, "must adopt some measures in order to 
pacify tlie people, such as reducing the taxes. It is impossible that a nation 
in cold blood will consent to pay, in time of peace, taxes nearly equal to the 
amou.nt of those paid by them in war, when there is no longer that stimulus, 
that irritation of mind which made them consider such drainings of their 



1817, March.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 547 

purses absolutely necessary to prevent tlieir country from being devoured by 
a foreign nation. England is in an unnatural state, and some change must 
take place." 

O'Meara said that, although great distress existed in England, the dis- 
turbances were confined to the lower classes, and that it would end by a few 
of them being hanged. 

Napoleon replied, " It may be so, Mr. Doctor, but you must consider that 
the lower classes, as you call them, are the bulk of the people. They, and 
not the nobles, form the nation. When the lower class gains the day, it 
ceases to be any longer the lower class ; it is then called the nation. If it 
does not, why, then some are executed, and they are called rabble, rebels, rob- 
bers, &c. Thus goes the world." 

March 14. The French commissioner, the Marquis Montchenu, was an ex- 
cessively weak man, and excessively vain of his lofty lineage. He affected 
to look with much contempt upon any one who could not count some hund- 
red years of nobility. O'Meara informed the Emperor that a letter had ap- 
peared in the French papers stating that Napoleon had invited the marquis 
to dine with him, but that Montchenu replied, " I have been sent to St. Hele- 
na to guard Bonaparte, not to dine with him." 

" These gentlemen," said the Emperor, " are always the same. It is very 
likely that he has been silly ihete) enough to write it. Those old French 
nobles are capable of any folly. He is worthy of being one of the high-born 
of France." 

" One of the papers states," continued O'Meara, " that Sir George Cock- 
burn has represented Napoleon as an ordinary character, destitute of talent." 

" Probably," Napoleon remarked, "and with reason, he does not suppose 
me to be a god, or to be endowed with supernatural talents, but I will ven- 
ture to say that he gives me credit for possessing some. If he has really ex- 
pressed the opinion attributed to him, it pays a poor compliment to the dis- 
cernment of the greatest part of the world. I wish you would bring me the 
paper which contains the report of Sir George Cockburn. I am so accus- 
tomed to read libels, that I care but little what is said, or what calumnies 
are published about me. 

"The people of England with difficulty will believe," added he, "that I 
not only read these libels without anger, but even laugh at them. From the 
violence of temper which has been attributed to me, I suppose they think that 
I must be worked up by rage to fits of madness. They are mistaken ; they 
only excite my laughter. The truth only wounds." 

O'Meara made inquiries respecting the affair of Palm, saying that it was 
the only sanguinary act attributed to Napoleon of which a satisfactory ex- 
planation had not been given. 

Napoleon replied, "I never have been asked any explanation about it. 
AU that I recollect is, that Palm was arrested by order of Davoust, I believe, 
tried, condemned, and shot, for having, while the country was in possession 
of the French, and under military occupation, not only excited rebellion 
among the inhabitants, and urged them to rise and massacre the soldiers, 



548 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXIX. 

but also attempted to instigate the soldiers themselves to refuse obedience 
to their orders, and to mutiny against their generals. I believe that he met 
with a fair trial. I should like,'' continued he, "to read the principal libels 
which have been published against me in England, if I could have them in 
Frencli. Tlicrc is Pclletier," added he, laughing, ^^ who jjrovcs that I was 
'myself i\\c contriver of tlie infernal machine." 

March 18. The Emperor, closely imprisoned in his room, passed the long 
and monotonous hours in reading, dictating, and conversing with his friends. 
Dr. 0'5Ieara, in his endeavor to conciliate Sir Hudson Lowe, went to the 
very utmost extreme of propriety in reporting to the governor every thing 
whicli w^as said or done by his illustrious patient. The Emperor evidently 
made an effort, whenever his English physician entered, to appear firm and 
cheerful. To-day he remarked, 

" Your ministers will not be able to impose always upon the nation. Be- 
cause they are afraid of me, and tliink that I have some talent, and because 
I have been always at war with them, and that I have made France greater 
than ever she was before, they fear that I might do so again ; and as any 
thing for the advantage of France would be disadvantageous to them, they 
endeavor by all means to prevent it, by putting a set of imbecilles on the 
throne, under Avhom France must necessarily decay. In order to find an ex- 
cuse for sending me here, and to give a color to their proceedings, they seek 
all means of blackening my character. Mark me, the English themselves 
will be the first to justify me, and to vindicate my character from the calum- 
nies which their ministers have thrown upon it. Posterity will revenge me. 
Recollect my words, and recollect that this is not the first time that I have 
told you so. 

" I am told," added he, " that there is twenty thousand pounds' [$100,000] 
worth of iron railing sent out. It is money thrown into the sea. Before this 
railing can be fixed up here I shall be under ground, for I am sure that I 
shall not hold out more than two years under the treatment that I experi- 
ence. 

" If my greatest enemies knew the way in which I am treated, they would 
compassionate me. ]\Iillions in Europe will weep for my lot when it is 
known, and known it will be, in spite of the endeavors of this governor to 
envelop every thing in secrecy and mystery. He shows how little he knows 
of England by thinking to efibct this. He has nothing English about him, 
cither within or without. He badly serves his government, who are desir- 
ous that as little as possible should be said about me, but he takes the most 
certain method of effecting the contrary." 

" Sir Hudson Lowe," says O'Meara, " was very busy inspecting the ditches 
and other works he had ordered to be thrown up about Longwood House and 
the stables." 

March 19. Napoleon, while in his batli, received the doctor. He was 
reading a French New Testament. O'Meara observed that many people 
would not believe that he would read such a book, as it had been asserted, 
and credited bv some, that he was an unbeliever. 



1817, March.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 549 

Napoleon smiled and replied, " Nevertheless, it is not true. I am far from 
being an Atheist. In spite of all the iniquities and frauds of the teachers of 
religion, who are eternally preaching up that their kingdom is not of this 
world, and yet seize every thing which they can lay their hands upon, from 
the time that I arrived at the head of the government, I did every thing in 
my power to re-establish religion. But I wished to render it the foundation 
and prop of morality and good principles, and not a prendre Vessor of the 
human laws. Man has need of something wonderful. It is better for him 
to seek it in religion than in Mademoiselle le Normand.* Moreover, religion 
is a great consolation and resource to those who possess it, and no man can 
pronounce what he will do in his last moments." 

Napoleon then made some remarks upon the conduct of the governor, whom 
he declared to be a man totally unfit for his situation. "If he were a suit- 
able man," said he, "he might make it pleasant and interesting. He might 
spend much of his time with me, and get great information with respect to 
past occurrences, with which no other person could be so well acquainted or 
so satisfactorily account for. Even unknown to myself, he Avould impercep- 
tibly have opportunities of getting information from me which would be very 
desirable to his ministers, and which I am certain they have ordered him to 
obtain, and that he burns to know. If I had really any intention of effect- 
ing my escape from this place, instead of disagreeing with him, I would caress 
and flatter him, endeavor to be on the best terms, go to Plantation House, 
call on his wife, and try to make him believe that I was contented, and there- 
by lull his suspicions asleep." 

March 16. Napoleon spoke at length about Talleyrand. "The triumph 
of Talleyrand," said he, "is the triumph of immorality. A priest united to 
another man's wife, and wlio has paid her husband a large sum of money to 
leave her with him. A man who has sold every thing, betrayed every body 
and every side. I forbade Madam Talleyrand the court, first, because she 
was a disrejmtable character, and because I found out that some Genoese 
merchants had paid her four hundred thousand francs in hopes of gaining 
some commercial favors by means of her husband. She was a very elegant 
woman, English or East Indian, but simple and grossly ignorant. 

" I sometimes asked Denon, whose works I suppose you have read, to 
breakfast with me, as I took pleasure in his conversation, and conversed very 
freely .with him. Noav all the intriguers and speculators paid their court to 
Denon, with a view of inducing him to mention their projects or themselves 
in the course of his conversations with me, thinking that even being mention- 
ed by such a man as Denon, for whom I had a great esteem, might materi- 
ally serve them. Talleyrand, who was a great speculator, invited Denon to 
dinner. When he went home to his wife, he said, 

" ' My dear, I have invited Denon to dine. He is a great traveler, and you 
must say something handsome to him about his travels, as he may be useful 
to us with the Emperor.' 

" His wife, being extremely ignorant, and probably never having read any 
* A celebrated fortune-teller at Paris. 



550 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. XXXIX. 



other book of travels than that of Robinson Crusoe, concluded that Denon 
could be nobbdy else than Robinson. Wishing to be very civil to him, she, 
before a large company, asked him divers questions about his man Friday ! 
Denon, astonished, did not know Avhat to think at first, but at length dis- 
covered, by her questions, that she really imagined him to be Robinson Cru- 
soe. His astonishment and that of the company can not be described, nor 
the peals of laughter which it excited in Paris, as the story flew like wildfire 
through the city, and even Talleyrand himself was ashamed of it. 

" It has been said," continued the Emperor, " that I turned Mohammedan 
in Egypt. Now it is not the case. I never followed any of the tenets of 
that religion. I never prayed in the mosques. I never abstained from wine, 
or was circumcised, neither did I ever profess it. I said merely that we 
were the friends of the Mussulmans, and that I respected Mohammed their 
prophet, Avhich was true ; I respect him now." 

The Emperor then spoke about some of the plans that he had had in con- 
templation for making canals of communication in Egypt. " I intended," 
said he, "to have made two, one from the Red Sea to the Nile at Cairo, and 
the other to the Mediterranean. I had the Red Sea surveyed, and found 
that its waters were thirty feet higher than the Mediterranean when they 
were highest, but only twenty-four at the lowest. My plan was to have pre- 
vented any water from flowing into the canal unless at low water, and this, 
in the course of a distance of thirty leagues in its passage to the Mediterra- 




1817, March.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 551 

nean, would have been of little consequence. Besides, I would have had some 
sluices made. The Nile was seven feet lower than the Red Sea when at its 
lowest, but many feet higher during the inundation. The expense was cal- 
culated at eighteen millions of francs [$3,600,000], and two years' labor." 

O'Meara asked if the Emperor had not saved Menou's life after the 13th 
of Vendemiaire. 

He replied, " I certainly was the means of saving his life. The Conven- 
tion ordered him to be tried, and he would have been guillotined. I was 
then commander-in-chief of Paris. Thinking it very unjust that Menou only 
should suffer, while three commissioners of the Convention, under whose or- 
ders he acted, were left untried and unpunished, but not venturing to say 
openly that he ought to be acquitted, for in those terrible times a man who 
told the truth lost his head, I had recourse to a stratagem. I invited the 
members who were trying him to breakfast, and turned the conversation upon 
Menou. I said that he had acted very wrong, and deserved to be condemn- 
ed to death, but that first the commissioners of the Convention must be tried 
and condemned, as he had acted by their orders, and all must suffer. This 
had the desired effect. The members of the court said, ' We will not allow 
those civilians to bathe themselves in our blood, while they allow their own 
commissioners, who are more culpableh, to escape with impunity.' Menou 
was immediately declared innocent." 

O'Meara then asked how many men he supposed had lost their lives in 
the business of the 13th Yendemiaire. 

He replied, "Very few, considering the circumstances. Of the people, 
there were about seventy or eighty killed, and between three and four hund- 
red wounded ; of the Conventionalists, about thirty killed, and two hundred 
and fifty wounded. The reason there were so few killed was, that, after the 
first two discharges, I made the troops load with powder only, which had the 
effect of frightening the Parisians, and answered as well a's killing them would 
have done. I made the troops at first fire ball, because, to a rabble who arc 
ignorant of the effect of fire-arms, it is the worst possible policy to fire pow- 
der only in the beginning ; for the populace, after the first discharge, hear- 
ing a great noise, are a little frightened, but looking around them, and seeing 
nobody killed or wounded, pluck up their spirits, begin immediately to de- 
spise you, become doubly outrageous, and rush on without fear, and it is nec- 
essary to kill ten times the number that it would have been had ball been 
used at first. 

" With a rabble every thing depends upon the first impressions made upon 
them. If they receive a discharge of firearms, and perceive the killed and 
wounded falling among them, a panic seizes them, they take to their heels 
instantly, and vanish in a moment. Therefore, when it is necessary to fire 
at all, it ought to be done with ball at first. It is a mistaken instance of 
humanity to use powder only at that moment, and, instead of saving the lives 
of men, ultimately causes an unnecessary waste of human blood." 

March 25. O'Meara had loaned Napoleon several very atrocious libels 
against the Emperor. Napoleon remarked, "I have been reading all day 



552 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXIX. 

yesterday ' The Secret Memoirs' of myself. These libels have done me more 
good than harm in France, because they irritated the nation both against the 
writers, and the Bourbons who paid them, by representing me as a monster, 
and by tlie improbable and scandalous falsehoods they contained against me 
and the government under me, which were degrading to them and the na- 
tion. Even Chateaubriand has done me good by his work. 

" It appears from the books you lent me that at a very early age I poison- 
ed a girl ; that I poisoned others for the mere pleasure of poisoning ; that I 
assassinated Desaix, Kleber, the Duke of Abrantes, and I know not how 
many others ; that I went to the army of Italy, consisting of some thousand 
galley-slaves, who were extremely happy to see me, as being one of their 
fraternity. You English believed every thing bad of me, which belief was 
always encouraged by your ministers. Your ministry also, with the excep- 
tion of Fox, who was sincere in his desire for 2:)cace, encouraged assassins 
against me." Here 0']\leara made some observations in disbelief of the as- 
sertion, to wliich Napoleon replied, 

" When they furnished ships to land, and money to support, men whose 
professed object was to assassinate me, was not that being privy to it ?" 
O'Meara said that they had furnished ships and money to assist in accom- 
pHshing a revolution, but without having known that assassination formed 
part of their plans. 

"Doctor," replied Napoleon, " you are a child. They knew it well. Fifty 
or sixty brigands, tlie most of tlicm notorious for assassination, could have 
no other mode of effecting a revolution. They had republished in London, 
at the same time, a book called '■Killing no Murder,'' which had been orig- 
inally printed in Cromwell's time, for tlie purpose of inculcating a belief that 
assassinating me was not only not a crime, but that it would be a praise- 
worthy and meritorious action." 

Sir Pulteney and Lady Malcolm, Captains Stanfell and Testing, of the 
navy, came up and had an interview with Napoleon. When tliey came out, 
one of the gentlemen expressed his astonishment at finding Napoleon so dif- 
ferent a person to what he was reported. 

"Instead of being a rough, impatient, and imperious character," said he, 
" I found him to be mild, gentle in his manner, and one of the pleasantest 
men I ever saw. I shall never forget him, nor how diiferent he is from the 
idea I had been led to form of him." 

Jfarch 26. Napoleon conversed a good deal about the battle of Waterloo. 
"The plan of the battle," said he, "will not, in the eyes of the lystorian, 
reflect any credit on Lord Wellington as a general. In the first place, he 
ought not to have given battle with the armies divided ; they ought to have 
been united and encamped before the 15th. In the next, the choice of ground 
was bad, because, if he had been beaten, he could not have retreated, as there 
was only one road leading to the forest in his rear. He also committed a 
fault which might have proved the destruction of all his army, without its 
ever having commenced the campaign or being drawn out in battle — he al- 
lowed himself to be surprised. On the 15th I was at Charleroi, and had 



1817, March.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 553 

beaten the Prussians without his knowing any thing alDOut it. I had gained 
forty-eight hours of maneuvers upon him, which was a great object, and, if 
some of my generals had shown that vigor and genius which they had dis- 
played in other times, I should have taken his army in cantonments without 
ever fighting a battle. But they were discouraged, and fancied that they 
saw an army of a hundred thousand men every where opposed to them. 

" I had not time enough myself to attend to the minutice of the army. 
I accounted upon surprising and cutting them up in detail. I knew of Bu- 
low's arrival at eleven o'clock, but I did not regard it ; I had still eighty 
chances out of a hundred in my favor. Notwithstanding the great superior- 
ity of force against me, I was convinced that I should obtain the victory. I 
had about seventy thousand men, of whom fifteen thousand were cavalry. 
I had also two hundred and fifty pieces of cannon ; but my troops were so 
good, that I esteemed them sufficient to beat a hundred and twenty thousand. 
Now Lord Wellington had under his command aboiit ninety thousand, and 
two hundred and fifty pieces of cannon, and Bulow had thirty thousand, 
making a hundred and twenty thousand. Of all those troops, however, I 
only reckoned the English as being able to cope with my own ; the others 
I thought little of. I believe that of English there were from thirty-five to 
forty thousand ; these I esteemed to be as brave and as good as my own 
troops. The English army was well known latterly on the Continent ; and, 
besides, your nation possesses courage and energy. As to the Prussians, 
Belgians, and others, half the number of my troops were sufficient to beat 
them. I only left thirty-four thousand men to take care of the Prussians. 

"The chief causes of the loss of that battle were, first of all, Grrouchy's 
great tardiness and neglect in executing his orders; next, the grenadiers a 
cheval and the cavalry under General Guyot, which I had in reserve, and 
which were never to leave me, engaged without orders and without my 
knowledge ; so that after the last charge, when the troops were beaten, and 
the English cavalry advanced, I had not a single corps of cavalry in reserve 
to resist them, instead of one which I esteemed to be equal to double their 
own number. In consequence of this, the English attack succeeded, and all 
was lost. There was no means of rallying. The youngest general would 
not have committed the fault of leaving an army entirely without reserve, 
which, however, occurred here, whether in consequence of treason or not, I 
can not say. These were the two principal causes of the loss of the battle 
of Waterloo. 

" If Lord Wellington had intrenched himself," continued he, " I would not 
have attacked him. As a general, his plan did not show talent. He cer- 
tainly displayed great courage and obstinacy, but a little must be taken away 
even from that when you consider that he had no means of retreat, and that, 
had he made the attempt, not a man of his army would have escaped. First, 
to the firmness and bravery of his troops, for the English fought with the 
greatest obstinacy and courage, he is principally indebted for the victory, and 
not to his own conduct as a general ; and next, to the arrival of Blucher, to 
whom the victory is more to be attributed than to Wellington, and mdre 



554 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XXXIX. 

credit due as a general, because he, although beaten the day before, assem- 
bled his troops, and brought them into action in tlie evening. I believe, 
however," continued Napoleon, " that WelHngton is a man of great firmness. 
The o-lory of such a victory is a great thing ; but in the eye of the liistorian, 
his mihtary reputation will gain nothing by it." 

" Napoleon then spoke about the libels upon himself which I had collected 
for him. 'As yet,' said he, 'you have not procured me one that is worthy 
of an answer. Would you have me sit down and reply to Goldsmith, Pichon, 
or the Quarterly Review ? They are so contemptible and so absurdly false, 
that they do not merit any other notice than to write false, false, in every 
page. The only truth I have seen in them is, that one day I met an officer — 
E,app, I believe — in the field of battle, with his face covered with blood, and 
that I cried, Oh^ comme il est beau I This is true enough ; and of it they 
have made a crime. My admiration of the gallantry of a brave soldier is 
construed into a crime, and a proof of my delighting in blood ; but posterity 
will do me that justice which is denied to me now. If I wxre that tyrant, 
that monster, would the people and the army have flown to join me with the 
enthusiasm they showed when I landed from Elba with a handful of men ? 
Could I have marched to Paris, and have seated myself upon the throne, 
without a musket havhig been fired ? Ask the Frenfch nation. Ask the 
Italian.' " 

O'Meara mentioned that ho had conceived that the Emperor had once ex- 
pressed to him that his intentions had been to have united England to France, 
if he had found himself sufficiently powerful. 

The Emperor promptly replied, "No, no; you must have misunderstood 
me. I said that I could not unite two nations so dissimilar. I intended, if 
I had succeeded in my projected descent, to have abolished the monarchy, 
and established a republic instead of the oligarchy by which you are govern- 
ed. I would have separated Ireland from England, the former of which I 
would have made an independent republic. No, no ; I would have left them 
to themselves after having sown the seeds of republicanism in their morale. 

"As to annexing England and France, upon mature deliberation I conceived 
that it would have been impossible to have united nations so dissimilar in 
ideas, and that it would have been as difficult to effect as to have brought 
together India and Europe. After Amiens I was ready to conclude a good 
peace with England, that is to say, a peace which would establish the com- 
mercial relations of the two countries upon a similar and equal footing." 

O'Meara observed that Lord Amherst was soon expected on his return 
from his embassy to China, and that it was likely that he would wish to see 
the Emperor. 

"If he is to be presented by the governor," Napoleon replied, "or if the 
governor sends one of his staff with him, I will not receive him. If he comes 
with the admiral, I shall. Neither will I receive the new admiral if he comes 
with the governor. I would not receive my own son if he were to be pre- 
sented by him." 



1817, April.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. • 555 



CHAPTER XL. 

1817, April and May. 

On Aristocracy — Cornwallis — False Documents — Lord Whitworth — Commendation of the English 
Seamen — Habits of Writing — Pleasant Interview with Admiral Malcolm — Remarks on receiv- 
ing Lord Amherst — The Princess of Wales — Prince Leopold — The Re-establishment of Poland — 
Deplorable State of Louis XVIII. — Lord Bathurst's Speech. 

A.j>ril 3. A midshipman who was on hoard the Undaunted^ which con- 
veyed Napoleon to Elba, happened to arrive at the island. He went up to 
Longwood, hoping to get a glimpse of the Emperor. Napoleon, who was 
walking in the garden, immediately recognized him, sent for him, told him 
that he had grown much since he had seen him, and conversed with him fa- 
miliarly. O'Meara afterward remarked to the Emperor that the midshipman 
had said that the Emperor was m^ch liked by the ship's company of the 
Undaunted. 

" Yes," replied Napoleon, " I believe it was so. I used to go among them, 
speak to them kindly, and ask different questions. My freedom in this re- 
spect quite astonished them, as it was so different from that which they had 
been accustomed to receive from their own officers. You English are aris- 
tocrats. You keep a great distance between yourselves and the people." 

O'Meara observed that, on board of a man-of-war, it was necessary to keep 
the seamen at a great distance, in order to maintain a proper respect for the 
officers. 

" I do not think," replied the Emperor, " that it is necessary to keep up so 
much reserve as you practice. When the officers do not eat or drink, or 
make too many freedoms with the private soldiers, I see no necessity for any 
greater distinctions. Nature formed all men equal. It was always my cus- 
tom to go among the soldiers and the common people, to converse with them, 
ask their little histories, and speak kindly to them. This I found to be of 
the greatest benefit to me. On the contrary, the generals and officers I treat- 
ed with reserve, and kept them at a great distance." 

April 6. Napoleon appeared in very good spirits. He mentioned Marquis 
Cornwallis in terms of great praise. " Cornwallis," said he, " was a man of 
probity, a generous and sincere character. He was the man who first gave 
me a good opinion of the English ; his integrity, fidelity, frankness, and the 
nobleness^ of his sentiments, impressed me with a very favorable opinion of 
you. / 1 recollect Cornwallis saying one day, ' There are certain qualities 
which may be bought, but a good character, sincerity, a proper pride, and 
calmness in the hour of danger, are not to be purchased.'/ These words made 
an impression upon me. I gave him a regiment of cavalry to amuse him- 
self with at Amiens, which used to maneuver before him. The officers of it 
loved him much. I do not believe that he was a man of first-rate abilities, 
but he had talent, great probity, and sincerity. He never broke his word. 



556 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Cha^. XL, 



"At Amiens, the treaty was ready, and was to be signed by him at the 
Hotel de la Villc at nine o'clock. Something happened which prevented 
him from going, but he sent word to the French ministers that they might 
consider the treaty as having been signed, and that he would sign it the fol- 
lowing* day. A courier from England arrived at niglit with directions to him 
to refuse his consent to certain articles, and not to sign the treaty. Although 
Cornwallis had not signed it, and might easily have availed himself of this 
order, he was a man of sucli strict honor that he said he considered his prom- 
ise to be equivalent to his signature, and wrote to his government that he 
had promised, and that, having once pledged his word, he would keep it ; that, 
if they-were not satisfied, they might refuse to ratify the treaty. There was 
a man of honor — a true Englishman. Such a man as Cornwallis ought to 
have been sent here, instead of a compound of falsehood, suspicion, and 
meanness. I was much grieved when I heard of his death. Some of his 
family occasionally wrote to me to request favors for some prisoners, which 
I always complied with." 

Speaking of Lord Whit worth, the Emperor remarked, 

*' Lord Whitworth, in that famous interview which he had with me, during 
which I was by no means violent, said, on leaving the room, that he was 
well satisfied with me, and contented with the manner in which I had treat- 
ed him, and he ed that all would go on well. This he said to some of the 
embassadors oi the other powers. A few days afterward, when the English 




INTERVIEW WITH LORD WHITWORTH. 



newspapers arrived with his account of the interview, stating that I had been 
in such a rage, it excited the astonishment of every body, especially of those 
embassadors, who remonstrated with him, and said, ' My lord, how can this 
account be correct ? You know that you allowed to us that you were well 
contented and satisfied with your reception, and stated your oj)inion that all 



1817, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGV/OOD. 557 

would go on well.' He did not know what to answer, and said, ' But this 
account is also true.' " 

Speaking of the British seamen, the Emperor said, 

" I always had a high opinion of your seamen. When I was returning 
from Holland along with the Empress Maria Louisa, we stopped to rest at 
Givet. During the night a violent storm of wind and rain came on, which 
swelled the Meuse so much that the bridge of boats over it was carried 
away. I was very anxious to depart, and ordered all the boatmen of the 
place to be assembled, that I might be enabled to cross the river. They said 
that the waters were so high that it would be impossible to pass before two 
or three days. I questioned some of them, and soon discovered that they were 
fresh-water seamen. I then recollected that there were English prisoners in 
the caserns, and ordered that some of the oldest and best seamen among them 
should be' brought before me to the banks of the river. The waters were 
very high, and the current rapid and dangerous. I asked them if they could 
join a number of boats so that I might pass over. They answered that it 
was possible, but hazardous. I desired them to set about it instantly. In 
the course of a few hours they succeeded in effecting what the other imhe- 
cilles had pronounced to be impossible, and I crossed before the evening was 
over. I ordered those who had worked at it to receive a sum of money each, 
a suit of clothes, and their liberty. Marchand was with mp^j^ the time." 

April 30. For many weeks Napoleon had been endeavor^.ig to beguile 
the weary hours by writing observations on the works of the great Frederick. 
The work was to consist of military observations and reflections, only with 
as much detail as would be necessary for the explanation of the operations 
commented on. It would probably comprise five or six octavo volumes. 
The Emperor frequently rose at three o'clock in the morning to engage in 
writing. In this work he did not employ an amanuensis, but used the pen 
himself. 

"Formerly," said the Emperor, "I was frequently in the habit of writing 
only half or three quarters of each word, and running them into each other, 
which was not attended with much inconvenience, as the secretaries had be- 
come so well accustomed to it that they could read it with nearly as much 
facility as if it were written plainly. No person, however, except one well 
accustomed to my manner of Avriting, could read it. Latterly I have begun 
to write a little more legibly, in consequence of not being so much hurried as 
on former occasions." 

2fay 6. The Emperor had recently had a long, and, as usual, a very pleas- 
ant interview with Admiral Malcolm. In giving an account of this interview 
to Dr. O'Meara, the Emperor remarked, 

" The admiral held a long conversation with me a day or two ago. He 
praised the governor ; said that I was mistaken in him ; that he was an ex- 
tremely well informed man, and had a good heart at bottom. He was very 
anxious that I should meet him, on an opportunity that soon would be af- 
forded by the arrival of Lord Amherst, when he suggested that we might 
meet as if nothing had previously occurred. I told him that he did not know 



558 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XL. 

the o-overnor ; that, until he changed his conduct, I would not see him, un- 
less by force. I observed that he might, without any discussion, alter his 
restrictions, and treat me as I would myself treat a person placed in a similar 
situation ; in fact, in a word, put matters upon the same footing as he found 
them, or nearly so ; but that it would answer no purpose for us to meet. 

" I complain of the ill treatment I receive. He says, ' I comply with my 
instructions.' This is always his excuse. Now, although I am convinced 
that his instructions specify no more than that he should take every precau- 
tion to prevent my escape and otherwise to treat me well, and with as little 
possible expense as may be, yet I could not well tell him that he asserted a 
falsehood. All that I could reply would be by making a comparison (in 
doing which you must always exaggerate), by likening him to a hangman, 
who, while he puts a rope round your neck to dispatch you, only executes 
liis orders, but that is not a reason that you should be obliged to make a 
companion of him, or receive him until the moment of execution. I could 
only say this, and tell him that if such were his orders, he had disgraced him- 
self by accepting a dishonorable employment ; that if they were not, he was 
still worse in being the contriver of such. As long as he treats me a la 
Botany Baij, so long will not I see him. 

"I told the admiral," continued he, "that I hoped the Prince Eegent 
would know of the treatment which I receive here. The admiral said that, 
if I thought myself aggrieved, I ought to complain, eitlier to the Eegent or 
to the ministers. I think it would be a degradation to me to complain to 
ministers who have treated me so ill, and who act from hatred. 

"The admiral," continued Napoleon, "is very well informed about the 
history of the last few years ; is really an Englishman, and defends his coun- 
try whenever he can ; but notwitlistanding, he could not contradict several 
of the assertions I made to him, because they were incontrovertible facts. 
He returned frequently to the proposed interview with Lord Amherst, which 
he is most desirous should take place. I am convinced that no good would 
arise from it. I wish that he should know my sentiments on these matters." 
O'Meara remarked that perhaps his refusing to see the embassador might 
be construed into an insult to the British government, and to the nation 
which he represented. 

Napoleon replied, " It can not admit of such a construction. He is not 
sent as an embassador to St. Helena. He was embassador to the Emperor 
of China, and at St. Helena can only appear in his private capacity ; conse- 
quently, there is no necessity for his being introduced by the governor. If 
he wants to see me, let him go to Bertrand, without being accompanied by 
any of the governor's people, then we will see about it. However, I think 
it would be better for both that it should not take place ; for, if I receive 
him, I must put on an appearance of cheerfulness, and clothe my face with 
smiles, as it is contrary to my custom to receive any person otherwise ; then, 
I must either be obliged to make complaints to a stranger of the barbarous 
" treatment I receive here — which is lessening to the dignity and character of 
a man like me — or else I must furnish an opportunity to this governor to fill 



1817, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 559 

the embassador's liead with falsehoods, and make him observe that I am so 
well treated that I have made no complaints, that I want for nothing, that I 
am treated with all possible respect, and enable him to write home a bulletin 
of falsehoods, with an appeal to the embassador in proof of the truth of them ; 
so that it would place me in an awkward dilemma, and one which it would 
be better to avoid." 

May 12. Napoleon received Dr. O'Meara while in his bath. In some con- 
versation about the governor, he said, " If the governor, on his arrival here, 
had told Bertrand that, in consequence of orders from his government, he was 
under the necessity of imposing fresh restrictions, and had described the na- 
ture of them, directing that in future we should conform ourselves to them, 
instead of acting in the underhand manner he has done, I would have said, 
This is a man who does his duty clearly and openly, without tricks or shuf- 
fling. It is necessary that there should be in this world such men as jailers, 
scavengers, butchers, and hangmen ; but still, one does not like to accept of 
any of those employments. If I were in the Tower of London I might pos- 
sibly have a good opinion of the jailer for the manner in which he did his 
duty, but I would neither accept of his situation, nor make a companion of 
him." 

After some conversation on the same subject. Napoleon said, " When I 
was at Elba, the Princess of Wales sent to inform me of her intention to 
visit me. I, however, on her own account, sent back an answer begging of 
her to defer it a little longer, that I might see how matters would turn out ; 
adding, that in a few months I would have the pleasure of receiving her. I 
knew that at the time it could not fail to injure the princess, and therefore I 
put it off. 

"Prince Leopold," continued he, "was one of the handsomest and finest 
young men in Paris at the time he was there. At a masquerade given by 
the Queen of Naples, Leopold made a conspicuous and elegant figure. The 
Princess Charlotte must doubtless be very contented and very fond of him. 
He was near being one of my aid-de-camps, to obtain which he had made in- 
terest and even applied ; but by some means, very fortunately for himself, he 
did not succeed, as probably, if he had, he would not have been chosen to be 
a future king of England. Most of the young princes in Germany," con- 
tinued he, " solicited to be my aids-de-camp, and Leopold was then about 
eighteen or nineteen years of age." 

May 22. Speaking of Russia, the Emperor said, "The European nations 
will yet find that I had adopted the best possible policy at the time I intend- 
ed to re-establish the kingdom of Poland, which will be the only efiectual 
means of stopping the increasing power of Russia. It is putting a barrier, 
a dike to that formidable empire, which it is likely will yet overwhelm Eu- 
rope. I do not think," said he to O'Meara, "that I shall live to see it, but 
you may. You are in the flower of your age, and may expect to live thirty- 
five years longer. I think that you will see that the Russians will either 
invade and take India, or enter Europe with four hundred thousand Cossacks 
and other inhabitants of the deserts, and two hundred thousand real Russians. 



560 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XL. 

When Paul was so violent against jou, he sent to me for a plan to hivade 
India. 

" If I had succeeded in my expedition to Russia, I would have obliged 
Alexander to accede to the Continental system against England, and thereby 
have compelled the latter to make peace. I would also have formed Poland 
into a separate and independent kingdom." 

0']Meara asked what kind of a peace he would have granted England. 

" A very good one," replied Napoleon. " I would only have insisted iipon 
your discontinuing your vexations at sea. I was tired of war. I would 
have employed myself in the improving and adorning of France, in the edu- 
cation of my son, and in writing my history. At least the allied powers can 
not take from me hereafter tlie great public Avorks which I have executed, the 
roads which 1 made over the Alps, and the seas which I have united. They 
can not place their feet to improve where mine have not been before. They 
can not take from me tlie code of laws which I formed, and which will go 
down to the latest posterity. Thank God, of these they can not deprive me." 

O'Meara said that he had been seeking for the number of ships which had 
been seized by the English prior to the proclamation issued by him for the 
detention of the English in France, and could only discover that two luggers 
had been taken in Quiberon Bay. 

"Two luggers I" exclaimed Napoleon ; "why, there was property to the 
amount of seventy millions [$14,000,000], and I suppose above two hundred 
ships detained, before I issued the proclamation. But it is what England 
has always done. In the war of 1773, you did the same, and you gave as 
a reason that you had always done so. Tlie great cause of dispute between 
you and us was, that I Avould not allow you to do what you liked at sea ; 
or, at least, if so, that I would act as it pleased me by land. In short, I did 
not wish to receive laws from you, but rather to give them. Perhaps in 
this I pushed matters too far. JMan is liable to err. AVhen you blockaded 
France, I blockaded England ; and it was not a paper blockade, as I obliged 
you to send your merchandise round by the Baltic, and occupy a little island 
in the North Sea, in order to smuggle. You said that you would shut me 
out from the seas, aiul I said that I would shut you out from the land. You 
succeeded ; but, had it not been for accidents, you Avould not. Your coun- 
try is nothing the better for it, through the imbecility of your ministers, who 
have aggrandized Kussia instead of their native country. 

" If," continued he, " Lord Castlereagh were to offer to place me again 
upon tlie throne of France on the same conditions that Louis tills it, I would 
prefer remaining where I am. There is no man more to be pitied than Louis 
XVIII. lie is forced upon the nation as king, and instead of being allowed 
to ingratiate himself with the people, the Allies oblige him to have recourse 
to measures which must increase their hatred instead of conciliating their af- 
fections. Hoyalty is degraded by the steps tliey have made him adopt. 
They have rendered him so powerless and contemptible, that it reflects upon 
the throne of England itself. In place of making him respectable, they have 
covered him with mud. 



1817, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 5gl 

" The French nation would never willingly consent to receive the Bour- 
bons as kings, because the Allies wish it. They would desire me, because 
the Allies do not. But, putting me out of the question, the French are de- 
sirous to see the throne filled by one chosen by themselves, and for whom 
no enemies or foreign powers had interfered. Ask yourselves, you English- 
men, what your sentiments would be in a similar case ? The wish of your 
ministers to re-establish despotic power and superstition in France can not 
be agreeable to the English. A free people, unless indeed a desire to hum- 
ble and to injure prevails, can not wish to see another nation enslaved. Ill- 
treated as I have been, and deprived of every thing dear to me, I prefer my 
sojourn on this execrable rock to be seated on the throne of France like 
Louis, as I know that posterity will do me justice. Another year or two 
will probably finish my career in this world, but what I have done will never 
perish. Twelve hundred years hence ray name will be mentioned with re- 
spect, while those of my oppressors will be unknown, or only known by be- 
ing loaded with infamy and opprobrium. 

"I am inclined," continued Napoleon, "to doubt very much what has 
been said of Cromwell. It has been asserted that he always wore armor, 
and continually changed his abode, through fear of assassination. Now both 
these assertions have been made of me, and both I know to be false, as were 
most likely those imputed to him. 

" The conduct of your government in attempting to put down liberty and 
enslave the English, surprises me. For Russia, Prussia, and Austria to do 
so, I wonder not, as they do not merit the name of liberal or of free nations. 
In them, the will of the sovereign was always law; the slaves must obey; but 
that England should do so surprises me, unless, as I said to you on a former 
occasion, political motives, jealousy, and a wish to humble and lessen those 
who have enriched themselves by trade prevail vnth your i^rince a.nd a.mong 
your oligarchy.''' 

May 23. Doctor O'j^Ieara makes the following record: "A message was 
sent for me to attend the governor at Plantation House. Found him in the 
library with Sir Thomas Reade. His excellency said that, ' the day before 
yesterday, some newspapers of a later date than any of his own had been re- 
ceived by ]\Ir. Cole, the postmaster, some of which were lent to me in direct 
violation of the act of Parliament, which positively prohibited communication, 
verbal or written, with General Bonaparte, or any of his family, or those 
about him, without his (the governor's) knowledge ; that he therefore wish- 
ed to know from myself whether I had lent those papers, or any others, to 
General Bonaparte ?' 

" I replied tPiat I had lent those and many others at various times to Na- 
poleon, as I had been constantly in the habit of lending papers to him since 
I had been on the island ; that Sir George Cockburn had, in more instances 
than one, given me newspapers to take to Longwood before having perused 
them himself. 

" Sir Hudson Lowe replied that it was a violation of the act of Parlia- 
ment. 

N N 



562 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XL. 

" I replied that I was not included in the act of Parliament, as I had made 
an express stipulation that I should not be considered or treated as one of 
the French, and would immediately resign my situation if I were required 
to hold it upon such terms. 

" His excellency said that ' he desired me to understand that, for the fu- 
ture, I was not to lend General Bonaparte any new82JCi2Ki\ or he the hearer 
of any information-, — news or neiosimj^ers — to him, without having previ- 
ously obtained his sanction.' 

" I observed that I felt it difficult to know how to act; for if, after the ar- 
rival of a ship. Napoleon asked me if there were any news, I could not pos- 
sibly pretend ignorance. 

" His excellency said that, ' as soon as a ship arrived, both Captain Pop- 
pleton and myself ought to be shut up in Longwood until the whole of the 
information or news brought was made known to him, and tlien I could ob- 
tain from him whatever news was proper to be communicated to General 
Bonaparte.' 

" I replied that I would not remain an hour in my situation subject to 
such a restriction." 

May 27. The conversation again turned upon Russia and the East. 
" In the course of a few years," said the Emperor, " Russia will have Con- 
stantinople, the greatest part of Turkey, and all Greece. This I hold to be 
as certain as if it had already taken place. Almost all the cajoling and flat- 
tering which Alexander practiced toward me was to gain my consent to ef- 
fect this object. I would not consent, foreseeing that the equilibrium of 
Europe would be destroyed. In the natural course of things, in a few years 
Turkey must fall to Russia. The greatest part of her population are Greeks, 
who you may say are Russians. The powers it would injure, and who could 
oppose it, are England, France, Prussia, and Austria. Now, as to Austria, 
it will be very easy for Russia to engage her assistance by giving her Ser- 
via, and other provinces bordering upon the Austrian dominions, reaching 
near to Constantinople. The only hypothesis that France and England may 
ever be allied with sincerity will be in order to prevent this. But even this 
alliance would not avail. France, England, and Prussia united can not pre- 
vent it. Russia and Austria can at any time effect it. 

" Once mistress of Constantinople, Russia gets all the commerce of the 
Mediterranean, becomes a great naval power, and God knows what may hap- 
pen. She quaiTcls with you, marches off to India an army of seventy thou- 
sand good soldiers, which to Russia is nothing, and a hundred thousand 
canaille, Cossacks and others, and England loses India. Above all the oth- 
er powers, Russia is the most to be feared, especially by you. Her soldiers 
are braver than the Austrians, and she has the means of raising as many as 
she pleases. In bravery, the French and English soldiers are the only ones 
to be compared to them. All this I foresaw. I see into futurity farther 
than others, and I wanted to establish a barrier against those barbarians by 
re-establishing the kingdom of Poland, and putting Poniatowski at the head 
of it as king, but your imhecilles of ministers would not consent. A hundred 



1817, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 5g3 

years lience I shall be praised {encense), and Europe, especially England, 
will lament that I did not succeed. When they see the finest countries in 
Europe overrun and a prey to those northern barbarians, they will say, ' Na- 
poleon was right.' 

" In my opinion, the only thing which can save England will be abstain- 
ing jfrom meddhng in Continental affairs, and by withdrawing her army from 
the Continent. Then you may insist upon whatever is necessary to your 
interests, without fear of reprisals being made upon your army. You are su- 
perior in maritime force to all the world united ; and while you confine your- 
self to that arm, you will always be powerful, and be dreaded. You have 
the great advantage of declaring war when you like, and of carrying it on at 
a distance from your home. By means of your fleets, you can menace an at- 
tack upon the coasts of those powers who disagree with you, and interrupt 
their commerce without their being able materially to retahate. 

"By your present mode of proceeding you forfeit all those advantages. 
Your most powerful arm is given up, and you send an army to the Conti- 
nent, where you are inferior to Bavaria in that species of force. You put me 
in mind of Francis the First, who had a formidable and beautiful artillery at 
the battle of Pavia ; but he placed his cavalry before it, and thus masked 
the battery, which, could it have fired, would have insured him the victory. 
■ He was beaten, lost every thing, and made prisoner. So it is with you. 
You forsake your ships, which may be compared to Francis's batteries, and 
throw forty thousand men on the Continent, which Prussia, or any other 
power who chooses to prohibit your manufactures, will fall upon and cut to 
pieces, if you menace or make reprisals." 

Napoleon then said to Dr. O'Meara, " If you are asked any questions by 
the embassador. Lord Amherst, about a reception at Longwood, you may say 
that I am not on good terms Avith the governor, and can not think of receiv- 
ing him with that person ; that, if he is desirous of being introduced, I will 
receive him presented by Count Bertrand or by the admiral. I have no 
doubt," continued the Emperor, "that this governor will tell him that I am 
very much dissatisfied with him for doing his duty, and that I am sulky ; 
that, having been so long used to command myself, I have not philosophy 
enough to bear restraint ; that I have been treated very well, and have made 
a very bad return for it. If the embassador asks you, you may say that I 
have my own way of receiving persons who wish to be introduced to me ; that 
I do not wish to affront him, far from it, but that I can not see the governor." 

3fay 28. A ship arrived from England, bringing the intelligence that Lord 
Holland had demanded an investigation in Parliament of the manner in which 
the Emperor was treated at St. Helena. This was a terrible annoyance to 
Sir Hudson Lowe. The journals which the ship brought reported the speech 
of Lord Bathurst, defending the course of the ministers. This speech con- 
tained statements so palpably and outrageously false, that Sir Hudson Lowe 
blushed to have the Emperor read it. He was well assured, however, that 
the news could not be concealed from the inmates of Longwood. He there- 
fore said to Dr. O'Meara, 



564 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XL. 

"If General Bonaparte asks you any qnestions relative to the motion 
made by Lord Holland in the House of Lords, you had better reply that the 
report of Lord Bathurst's speech, given in the newspapers, may be incorrect 
or unfaithful." 

May 30. The Emperor received a copy of the London Times containing 
Lord Bathurst's speech. He immediately sent for Dr. O'Meara to come to 
his bed-room and aid him in translating it. To the utter amazement alike of 
the Emperor and of his physician, they read Lord Bathurst's assertion "that 
every change that had taken place had been for General Bonaparte's benefit ; 
that the reason for contracting his limits had been his tampering with soldiers 
or inhabitants ; and that the connnunication with officers and inhabitants was 
unrestricted and free." The Emperor, as these utterly false statements were 
read, calmly remarked, 

" I am very glad to see that the English minister has justitied his conduct, 
so atrocious toward me, to the Parliament, to his nation, and to Europe, with 
falseliood ; a sad resource, which can not long continue. The reign of false- 
hood will not last forever." 

"I felt greatly ashamed," says Dr. 0']\leara, "and ready to sink into the 
earth, and stammered out the excuse that had been suggested to me by Sir 
Hudson Lowe." 

In reference to the refusal of Sir Hudson Lowe to transmit a sealed let- 
ter from Napoleon to the Prince Regent, the Emperor said, " It is strange 
that a sovereign who, by the grace of God, is bom lord and master of so 
many millions, can not receive a sealed letter! How can complaints be 
made to the sovereign of a corrupt or vile minister, if such be the rule ? In 
time of Avar, if a minister betrays and sells his country, how can it be knoAvn 
to the king if the complaint must go through the hands of the persons com- 
plained of, at whose option it will be either to varnish and color it over as 
best suits his views, or suppress it altogether ?" 

The Emperor then spoke at length about the state of England. He ob- 
served, " It is necessary not to yield too much to the people, or to allow them 
to think that reforms are conceded through fear. Perhaps the suspension of 
the Habeas Corpus Act may, for a short time, be a proper step, as well as an 
army kept up to intimidate the populace ; but I consider these to be only 
topical appHcations, wliich, if used withoiit general remedies that should act 
upon the constitutional disease, might prove repellent and dangerous, by driv- 
ing the complaint to nobler parts. England may be hkened unto a patient 
requiring to have his system changed by a course of mercury. The only 
radical remedy is that which will affect the constitution, that is to say, re- 
lieve the misery which exists. This can only be effected by procuring a 
vent for your manufactures, and by reduction of expenditure — ministers set- 
ting tlic example themselves by giving up the sineciu-es, &c. This would 
contribute essentially to calm the public agitation. Plad the ministers come 
forward like men at the opening of the session of Parliament, and thrown 
up their sinecures, this, with the example set by the Prince Regent, would 
have quieted all tumults and complaints. The people, in expectation of ex- 



<v 



1817, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 565 

periencing something radically beneficial from so good a beginning, would 
have united, and time would have heen gained to adopt measures to relieve 
the general distress. 

"You were greatly offended with me for having called you a nation of 
shop-keepers. Had I meant by this that you were a nation of cowards, you 
would have had reason to be displeased, even though it were ridiculous and 
contrary to historical facts. But no such thing was ever intended. I meant 
that you were a nation of merchants, and that all your great riches and 
your grand resources arose from commerce, which is true. What else con- 
stitutes the riches of England ? It is not extent of territory, or a numerous 
population ; it is not mines of gold, silver, or diamonds. Moreover, no man 
of sense ought to be ashamed of being called a shop-keeper ; but your prince 
and your ministers appear to wish to change altogether the spirit of the En- 
glish, and to render you another nation ; to make you ashamed of your shops 
and your trade, which have made you what you arc, and to sigh after nobil- 
ity, titles, and crosses ; in fact, to assimilate you with the French. What 
other object can there be in all those cordons, crosses, and honors which are 
so profusely showered ? You are all nobility now instead of the plain old 
Englishmen. You are ashamed of yourselves, and want to be a nation of 
nobility and gentlemen.^ Nothing is to be seen or heard of now in England 
but ' Sir John' and ' my lady.' 

"All those things did very well with me in France, because they were 
conformable to the spirit of the nation ; but believe me, it is contrary both 
to the spirit and interest of England. Stick to your ships, your commerce, 
and counting-houses, and leave cordons, crosses, and cavalry uniforms to the 
Continent, and you will prosper. Lord Castlereagh himself was ashamed 
of your being called a nation of merchants, and frequently said, in France, 
that it was a mistaken idea to suppose that England depended upon com- 
merce, or was indebted to it for her riches ; and added, that it was not by 
any means necessary to her. How I laughed when I heard of this false 
pride ! He betrayed his country at the peace. 

" I do not mean to say," continued he, laying his hand over his heart, 
"that he did it from here, but he betrayed it by neglecting its interests. 
He was, in fact, the commissioner of the allied sovereigns. Perhaps h6 want- 
ed to convince them that you were not a nation of merchants by showing 
clearly that you would not make any advantageous bargain for yourselves ; 
by magnanimously giving up every thing, that nations might cry, 'Oh! how 
nobly England has behaved!' Had he attended to the interests of his own 
country, had he stipulated for commercial treaties, for the independence of 
some maritime states and towns, for certain advantages to be secured to En- 
gland, to indemnify her for the waste of blood and the enormous sacrifices 
she had made, why then they might have said, ' What a mercenary people ! 
They are truly a nation of merchants. See what bargains they want to 
. make ! ' and Lord Castlereagh would not have been so well received in the 
drawing-rooms. " 

* This he said in English, as well as the words marked with commas, which follow. 



:hU; NAiK^LKON at ST \iki.i:na. [ru.u\ \Ll. 

i,>"Moarj\ x\Muarkod, tluvt in ono ot'tho Oomior,-* sout him bv tlio gvnoruov, 
he hml obsorvoii a sjhhx^Ii attributod to 8iv I'ranois l>uuloi(, aooviWni:^ ^iaj>o- 
K\M\ onunving Ov^tablishod eight ^j,n7*7«>' in l-ranoo, 

>vajx>Uvn ivi>litHl, •* h\ somo i\\>«jHvtj» it isi tnio. 1 iv^tablitihovl a tow pvis- 
Oiiij^ but thoY woiY tor tvrtaiu jhm^ous avuo wow luulor sontonoo <4" death. 
As* I lUvl not like to have the eapital ]nmiv>thinent exeented, and eouKl not 
gieud tlteni to a Hotany R»y, ai* yo\i weiv masters v^t' the sea ami wonUl have 
rvloi^s^ed thenu I wa** obhi^wl to keep tlietn in pvisoj\!<. Hnt wheiv ivS the 
ooimtryVhhout jails? Aw thew not some in Kngkndf 



cuArrKK \i.i. 

IS 17, ,lnne. 

The marWo Busi — rnvstMit frvMn l.;jvk Holhxnil ami orhcrs! — Onu»it K»ma — Mvimt — WatorUx^ — 
Tho lVUv<>rv i\f iho Uus» — The NU>lher of Nai^xUsu* — Tesiimwny of Mrs, Aln^ll — >itH'^>ssii.v lor 
the s^vvMul AUlU"a«ioj> — Arrival oi" l.otvl Aiulu-rsl, 

Jt4tt(' 0. The V.m^v1^^^ >vai» intbnniHl tiuit a niavbU^ bnst ot" his son had 
Khm\ at Jamestown nine days, a pwsent to him t'wm Maria Lonisa, and that 
Sir Hudson Lowo, in eons<H|ttenee of some aUej^nl intbrmality in the manner 
in whieh it had Kvn lbv>\-jmUHl. Avas ivtusing to deUwr it, and even thwat- 
ene<l to Ixreak it to pievv.^ ^Ve ean only imairine the ttvlings ot" indignation 
Avhieli sclowod in the Ix^som ot' the Ivreavoil and insulted tat her. These weiv 
teoKnii-s wliieh he wonhl have eonnnnnieated to his oongtMiial friend Ijas Oasas, 
but, tivn\ the peenliarivsition ot' Pr. (.VMoani, the KmjHMW ivuld not «so t'lwly 
unlKvjsv^m to him liis anguish. The bust \n-j\s« brought \nuler tlie ehargx^ ot" 
Mr. Ixadwiek, in an Knglish \essel, the 7>arm(/. which arrived at St, Helena 
on the -8th ot' Mav. The eaptain of the vessel did not know that Mr. K ad- 
wick had the bust, and, ai? it had not Ivon forwajxied thrv>ugh the British 
ministers. Sir Hudson LoAVt) hesitated aK^ut delivering it. Tins rumor, of 
ivurse, excited intense emotion at Longwovxl. 

>lr. >lannin<x. to whom we have alluded Ivtore ai« one of the thfdifhJ in 
Fr;\nce whom Xajx^hxin generv»usly hlH.n-;\ted that lie nnght prosemite his 
travels, :Uso arrived at the island, rx^turning from an extensi\-o tour thrvMigh 
the F^\st, wheiv he had seen the Cirjuul l^\nn\. In gratitude to Napoleon. 
his kind Wnefaetor, he had lm>ught for him a few pivj*ents. Sir Hudson 
liOwo Avoxild not allow then\ to U> deliver\.Hl. and forlvule Mr. Planning to in- 
form the friends of the Kmjx^rvvr that he had such pwsents. 

I^uly Holland also, who, with her huslvu\d. Lonl Holland, divply symjvi- 
thire^l with the Emjx^iv»r in his snt^vrings and his wrongs, sent him some 
Ixvks, and some other article^i, which might minister to his comfort. Thou- 
ssands of the noblest hearts in Kngland were indignant at the course pur- 
snevl bv the ministry. The only crime which Xapoleon had committed was 
th:tt he was the foe of arisiOv.^r:uic privi\egt\ and the strv^ng champion of t^/fftf 
riij^ti! jor all mtn, Lonl Holland in Parliament, as has just been men- 
tioncil, had demanded an investigation of the conduct of Sir Hudson Lowe ; 



1817, .luiic.) IIKSIDENCJ; AT LO.\f;wooi;. 507 

I(m1, iIjc, jrjIniHtry wan loo Hl.ron^' for the oppOHitlon. Any voice raised in W 
JuiJf" oi -Nupolfjon wuH inKlanfly drowncA in ttie clamor of tlie ari,Hf.O';nj.oy j 
and yet there; wen; Home nohle exeffjlionn. Many pernonH of the liigheHt 
rank hhinhed for Ihe (li:-,honor of 1,h'-ir f;oiu)1.ry. 

r/7/y/.6 7. Najjoleon, iiad Jjeard of the arrivaJ of the eelel^rated traveler from 
the r^ant who iiad Keen tlie (J rand iiama. Jle wan very de.HirouH of Hceirig 
th(; jnan, though he Jiad entirely forf.^oU,en the <;ireijmHlanee of hin Jiaving been 
once dciained in J*Vane(5. 

" I. aif) very curiouH," Haid the lOrnperor to O'Mcara, " to gf;t nome infor- 
mation ahouf, thin C;!rand Lama. I have nf;ver read any accountH about him 
that J, eouhl. rf;ly upon, and Hometime.s have doubted of hi.s exiHtenee. When 
you go to town, I. wiHh you would get aefjuairitf;d with the traveler, and in- 
quire wlmt ceremonies were made use of, wlicther adoration was practiced, 
and inform yournelf of every pOHsible yjart;ieular." 

'J'o-day, iVlr. Manning, aeeompariied hy Captain Jialntorj, earne up to Count 
Jiertrand's. in the course of an hour, the JOrnperor called in witli (jount 
Montholon. In tljr; conversation wliieh ensuefl, Mr. Manning said, 

" In the year 1805 J, was one of the persons detainr;d in J'Varjee. J. wrot^i 
a letter to your majesty, stating that I was traveling for tfje benefit of the 
world at large, which procured my release." 

"What protection had you?" asked the Kmperor. "I fad you a letter 
from >Sir Joseph Jianks to me ?" 

"I had no protection whatever," Mr. Manning replied, "nor lett^;r from 
Sir Joseph Jianks, nor ]md J. any friends to interest tlicmsclvcs in my be- 
lialf. I merely wrote a letter to your majesty stating my situation." 

"Was it your simj;le letter whieli obtained your liberty?" asked iS^apo- 
leon. 

"It was my simjjle letter," he replied, "tliat inducwl you to grant it to 
me, for which I am very gi-ateful, and beg to thank you." 

Napoleon then questioned him with dw;p interest about his travels, follow- 
ing on the map the route he had pursued. I'hc traveler gave a clear and 
concise reply to every question; said that lie liad seen the Grand Lama, 
whom lie described as an intelligent boy about seven years old. 

" Jiovv did you escape being taken as a sjy ?" inquired the JOmperor. 

" 1 hope," the eccentric man replied, "there is nothing in my countenance 
which would indicate my being a spy." 

Tlie JOmpf;ror smiled, and addcfl, "How came it to pass tliat you, being 
jjTofane according to their ideas, could gain admission to the presence of the 
Lamaf 

" I Jjonor and respect all religions," said Mr. Manning, " and tliereby gain- 
ed admission." Thus the conversation for a long time continued. 

The Emperor's servant, Santini, who liad been sent away from »St. Helena 
by (Sir Hudson Lowe, pubb'Hhed in JOurope a pamplilet giving an account of 
scenes at St. Helena. It was written by some other person from informa- 
tion which the unlettered servant could communicate, and was, of course, 
full of misconceptions and errors. O'Mcara gave the l'>nperor a copy of the 



568 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLI. 

pamphlet. He read it, occasionally remarking, as lie tiirned over the leaves, 
"true," "partly true," "false," "stuff." 

June 10. O'Meara informed the Emperor that Colonel Macirone, aid-de- 
camp to Murat, had pubhshed some anecdotes of his late master. 

" What does he say of me ?" inquired Napoleon. 

"He speaks ill of you," was the reply. 

The Emperor smiled, and said, "Oh, that is nothing; I am well accus- 
tomed to that. But what does he say ?" 

"It is asserted," O'Meara replied, "that ]\Iurat had imputed the loss of 
the battle of Waterloo to the cavalry not having been properly employed, 
and had said that if lie had commanded them, the French would have gained 
the victory." 

"It is very probable," replied Napoleon. " I could not be every where ; 
and Murat was the best cavalry officer in the world. He would have given 
more impetuosity to the charge. There wanted but very little, I assure you, 
to gain the day for me — to break two or three battalions, and in all proba- 
bility ]\Iurat would have effected that. There were not, I believe, two such 
officers in the world as ]\Iurat for the cavalry, and Drouot for the artillery. 
Murat was a most singular character. Four-and-twenty years ago, when he 
was a captain, I made him my aid-de-camp, and subsequently raised him to 
be what he was. He loved — I may rather say, adored me. In my presence 
he was, as it were, struck with awe, and ready to fall at my feet. I acted 
wrong in having separated him from me, as without me he was nothing; 
with me, he was my right arm. Order Murat to attack and destroy four or 
five thousand men in such a direction, it was done in a moment ; but leave 
him to himself, he was an imbecille without judgment. I can not conceive 
how so brave a man could be so characterless. He was nowhere brave un- 
less before the enemy. There he was probably the bravest man in the world. 
His boiling courage carried him into the midst of the enemy, convert depennes 
jusqu'au clocher, and glittering with gold. How he escaped is a miracle, 
being as he was always a distinguished mark, and fired at by every body. 
Even the Cossacks admired him on account of his extraordinary bravery. 

" He was a paladin, in fact, a Don Quixote in the field ; but take him into 
the cabinet, he was a poltroon without judgment or decision. Murat and 
Ney were the bravest men I ever witnessed. Murat, however, was a much 
nobler character than Ney. Murat was generous and open ; Ney partook of 
the canaille. Strange to say, however, Murat, though he loved me, did me 
more mischief than any other person in tlie world. When I left Elba, I sent 
a messenger to acquaint him with what I had done. Immediately he must 
attack the Austrians. The messenger went upon his knees to prevent him, 
but in vain. He thought me already master of France, Belgium, and Hol- 
land, and that he must make his peace, and not adhere to demi-inesures. 
Like a madman, he attacked the Austrians with his canaille^ and ruined me ; 
for at that time there was a nes-otiation froins: on between Austria and me, 
stipulating that the former should remain neuter, which would have been 
finally concluded, and I should have reigned undisturbed. But as soon as 



1817, June.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 569 

Murat attacked the Austrians, the Emperor immediately conceived that he 
was acting Tby my directions, and indeed it will he difficult to make posterity 
believe to the contrary." 

The bust of Napoleon's son had now been at the island thirteen days. It 
was generally known that it had arrived, and also that there were other pres- 
ents for the imprisoned Emperor which were likewise detained. The Em- 
peror was silent upon the subject. It was generally understood that the 
governor had threatened to break the bust of the idolized child to pieces, or 
to throw it into the sea. Sir Hudson Lowe, in his impotent defense, ad- 
mits 

" That at first he hesitated as to the course which his duty required him 
to take, considering the clandestine manner in which an attempt was thus 
made to communicate with Napoleon, and he was inclined not to allow the 
bust to be forwarded imtil he had communicated with Lord Bathurst on the 
subject. Sir Thomas Reade, however, suggested that, as the bust was made 
of marble, so that it could not possibly contain any thing improper, it might 
be forwarded to Longwood at once ; and as its arrival had already hecome 
known. Sir Hudson assented to the proposal." 

The governor accordingly called on Count Bertrand, and informed him 
that " although the bust had come in a very irregular manner, yet, under the 
impression that it might be a thing acceptable to Mm who resided at Long- 
wood (a celui qui residait a Longwood), he would take the responsibility of 
landing it, if such was his wish." He said that the man expected five hund- 
red dollars for the bust, which Sir Hudson Lowe thought was much more 
than it was worth. Such was the character of Sir Hudson Lowe. 

General Bertrand immediately reported this conversation to the Emperor. 
Soon after, O'Meara was introduced. The Emperor mentioned the cu'cum- 
stances to him, and inquired, 

"Did you know any thing about the statue?" 

" I heard of it," O'Meara replied, " some days ago." 

" Why did you not tell me ?" the Emperor inquired. 

O'Meara, much embarrassed, replied, " I expected the governor would have 
sent it up." 

"I have known of it," said Napoleon, "for several days. I intended, if 
it had not been given, to have made such a complaint as would have caused 
every Enghshman's hair to stand on end with horror. I would have told a 
tale which would have made the mothers of England execrate him as a mon- 
ster in human shape. I have been informed that he has been deliberating 
about it, and also that his prime minister, Reade, ordered it to be broken. I 
suppose that he has been consulting with that httle major (Gorrequer), who 
has pointed out to him that it would brand his name with ignominy for ever, 
or that his wife has read him a lecture at night about the atrocity of such a 
proceeding. He has done enough, however, to dishonor his name by retain- 
ing it so long, and by even allowing a doubt to exist of its being sent up. I 
do not know what he meant by saying that a hundred guineas was too much 
for the statue, whether he intended it as an insult or as a reflection upon us. 



570 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLI. 

Surelj no sum could be too much for a father to pay under similar circum- 
stances. But this man has no feeling.*' 

The Emperor afterward spoke of his own family. " My excellent moth- 
er," said he, " is a woman of courage and of great talent, more of a mascu- 
line than a feminine nature, proud, and high-minded. To the mannter in 
which she_formed me at an early age I principally owe my subsequent ele- 
vation. \ My opinion is, that the future good or bad conduct of a child en- 
tu'ely depends upon the mother." / 

June 11. The statue w^as sent to Long wood fourteen days after its arrival 
at St. Helena. It was a beautiful bust in white marble, about the natural 
size, and exceedingly well executed. It was placed on the mantel of Napo- 
leon's contracted and dilapidated study, and there, hour after hour, the hrm, 
unyielding, grief-stricken Emperor, alone and in silence, gazed upon the beau- 
tiful features of his idolized child. With inhumanity almost unparalleled, 
the father had been torn from his son, and there was no probability that the 
parent and the child would ever meet on earth again. The Emperor received 
no food, and left not his room as the hours of the day joassed along. To no 
eye but that of God was the anguish of his bursting heart revealed, as he 
communed, in the solitary cell of his captivity, with the loved and the lost. 
At last he sent for Dr. O'jMeara, and, standing before the bust, he pointed to 
it, and said, with deep emotion, 

" Look at that ! look at that image ! Barbarous and atrocious must the 
man be Avho would break such an image as tliat. I esteem the man capable 
of executing or of ordering it to be worse than him who admmisters poison 
to another ; for the latter has some object to gain, but the former is insti- 
gated by nothing but the blackest atrocity, and is capable of committing any 
crime. That countenance would melt the heart of the most ferocious wild 
beast. The man who gave orders to break that image would plunge a knife 
into the heart of the original, if it were in his power." 

" He gazed on the statue for several minutes," says O'Meara, " with great 
satisfaction and delight, his face covered with smiles, and strongly express- 
ive of paternal love, and of the pride which he felt in being the father of so 
lovely a boy. I Avatched his countenance narrowly, which I had an excel- 
lent opportunity of doing while he was contemplating attentively the beauti- 
tlil though inanimate features sculptured on the marble. No person who 
had witnessed this scene could deny that Napoleon was animated by the 
tender affections of a father. 

"Napoleon afterward," continues 0']Meara, "vented his feehngs about 
the alleged order for the destruction of the bust. AVhen I endeavored to 
reason upon the uncertainty of the fact, and that it assuredly had not been 
given by the governor, he interrupted me by saying ' that it was in vain to 
attempt to deny a known fact. The statue to me," continued he, ' was worth 
a million, though this governor contemptuously said that a hundred pounds 
was a great price for it.' " 

In reference to Napoleon's wann and generous affections, Mrs. AbeU makes 
the following remarks : 



1817, June.] RESIDENCE AT LONG WOOD. 571 

" I think his love of children, and the delight he felt in their society, and 
tliat, too, at the most calamitous period of his life, when a cold and unat- 
tachable nature would have Leen abandoned to the indulgence of selfish mis- 
ery, in itself speaks volumes for his goodness of heart. After hours of la- 
borious occupation, lie would often permit us to join him, and that which 
would have fatigued and exhausted the spirits of others seemed only to re- 
cruit and renovate him. His gayety was often exuberant at these moments ; 
he entered into all the feelings of young people, and when with them was a 
mere child, and, I may add, a most amusing one. 

" I feel, however, even painfully, the difficulty of conveying to my readers 
my own impression of the disposition of Napoleon, ilatters of feeling arc 
often incapable of demonstration. The innumerable acts of amiability and 
kindness Avhich he lavished on all around him at my father's house, derived, 
perhaps, their chief charm from the way in which they were done ; they 
would not bear being told. Apart from the sweetness of his smile and man- 
ner, their effect would have been comparatively nothing. But young peo- 
ple are generally keen observers of character ; and after seeing Xapoleon in 
every possible mood, and in his most unguarded moments, when I am sure, 
from his manner, that the idea of acting a part never entered his head, I left 
him impressed with the most complete conviction of his want of guile, and 
the thorough amiability and goodness of his heart. That this feeling was 
common to almost every one who approaclied him, the respect and devotion 
of his followers at St. Helena is a sufficient proof. They had then nothing 
more to expect from him, and only entailed misery on themselves by adhering 
to his fortunes." 

June 13. The Emperor, as usual wlien Dr. 0']\lcara v/as introduced, 
roused himself to vigor and cheerfulness. The conversation turned upon 
the possibility of his ha\dng sustained himself in France after the battle of 
Waterloo, in spite of the efforts of the allied powers. 

" My own opinion was," said the Emperor, " that I could not have done 
so without having shed the blood of liundreds by tlie guillotine. I must 
have plunged my hands up to this in blood," stretching out one arm, and ap- 
plying the finger of the other to his arm-pits. "Had the Legislative Body 
displayed courage, I miglit have succeeded ; but they were frightened and di- 
vided among each other ; La Fayette was one of the chief causes of the suc- 
cess of the enemies of France. To have given me a chance, I must have 
had recourse to tlie most sanguinary measures. The conduct of the Allies, 
in declaring that they Avaged war against me alone, had a great effect. Had 
it been possible to liave rendered me inseparable from the nation, no efforts 
of the allied powers would have succeeded ; but as it was, by isolating me, 
and declaring that if I were once removed, all obstacles to a peace would 
cease, people became divided in their sentiments, and I determined to abdi- 
cate, and remove, as far as I was concerned, every difliculty. Had the 
French nation guessed at the intention of the Allies, or that tliey would have 
acted as they have done since, they would have rallied round me ; but they 
were overreached like the lambs in the fable, when the wolves declared they 



572 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLII. 

only waged war against the dogs ; but the dogs once removed, they fell upor. 
and devoured the lambs. 

"There is a great difference of opinion," continued the Emperor, "as to 
what I ought to have done. Many were of opinion that I ought to have 
fought to the last. Others said that Fortune- had abandoned me ; that Wa- 
terloo had closed my career of arms for ever. My own opinion is, that I ought 
to have died at Waterloo — perhaps a little earlier. Had I died at Moscow, I 
should probably have had the reputation of the greatest conqueror ever 
knoAvn. But the smiles of Fortune were at an end. I experienced little 
but reverses afterward ; hitherto I had been unconquered. I ought to have 
died at Waterloo. But the misfortune is, that when a man seeks the most 
for death, he can not find it. Men were killed around me, before, behind, ev- 
ery where, but no bullet for me." 

June 28. Lord Amherst and his suite, who had been long expected, ar- 
rived on the 27th. To-day, accompanied by the governor, they called upon 
Count and Countess Bertrand. Napoleon afterward, speaking of the inter- 
view, said, 

" The civilities of the governor are those of a jailer. When he came to 
Bertrand's with the embassador, he merely introduced him as Lord Amherst, 
and then, without sitting down or conversing for a moment like a gentleman, 
turned about and took his leave, like a jailer or a turnkey who points out his 
prisoners to visitors, then turns the key and leaves them together. Having 
come up with Lord Amherst, he ought to have remained for a quarter of an 
horn-, and then left them." 



CHAPTER XLII. 
1817, July. 

Arrival of the Conqueror — Malcolm — Validity of Napoleon's Title to the Crown — Breakfast with 
O'Meara — Story of the Bust — Letter to Mr. Radwick — The Presentation of Lord Amherst — Re- 
markable Conversation — Vigilance with which the Emperor was guarded — Captain Elphinstone 
— The Present — Cause of the War with Spain — Anecdote — Controversy with the Governor — 
Increasing Tyranny. 

Jtihj 1. It was a beautiful day: not a cloud floated in the sky, and the 
serene yet brilliant atmosphere presented no obstruction to the vision. The 
Emperor was informed that an English ship of war, tiie Conq^ieror, was ap- 
proaching the island. He walked out a few steps from his door to an ele- 
vation which commanded a view of the sea to watch the approach of the 
ship. Little Elizabeth Balcombe had that morning gone to Longwood, and 
she thus describes the scene : 

"I recollect being at Longwood one beautiful day; the atmosphere had 
that peculiar lightness and brilliancy which in a great measure constituted 
the charm of the climate of St. Helena. The sea lay glistening in the sun 
like a sheet of quicksilver, the little merry waves bursting in sparkling foam 
at the foot of the stupendous rocks, and the exquisite soft verdure immedi- 



1817, July.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 573 

ately surrounding Longwood formed a very pleasant contrast to the stern 
features of the rest of the island. It was one of those days in which the ^^ast 
and the future are alike disregarded ; anxious thought is suspended for a mo- 
ment, and the present alone is felt and enjoyed. I remember bounding up 
to St. Denis and asking for Napoleon. My joyousness was somewhat damped 
by the gravity with which he replied that the Emperor was watching the 
approach of the ' Conqueror,'' then coming in, bearing the flag of Admiral 
Pamplin. 'You will And him,' he said, 'near Madam Bertrand's, but he is 
in no mood for badinage to-day, mademoiselle.' 

"Notwithstanding this check, I proceeded toward the cottage, and in a 
moment the whole tone of my mind was changed from gayety to sadness. 
Young as I was, I could not help being strongly impressed by the intense 
melancholy of his expression ; ' the ashes of a thousand thoughts were on his 
brow.' He was standing with General Bertrand, his eyes bent sadly on the 
seventy-four, which was- but yet a speck in the line of the horizon. The 
magnificent ship soon grew upon our sight, as, beating up to windward, si- 
lently yet proudly she pursued her brave career. 

" The Emperor, after a long silence, commented on the beautiftil manage- 
ment of the vessel. ' The English are kings upon the sea,' he said ; and 
then, smiling somewhat sarcastically, added, ' I wonder what they think of 
our beautiful island ; they can not be much elated by the sight of my gigan- 
tic prison walls!'" 



■^-"^r^ 



NAPOLEON. 



July 3. Admiral Pamplin, who was to succeed Sir Pulteney Malcolm, 
having arrived at the island a fev^ days before in the Conqueror, was intro- 
duced to the Emperor by Admiral Malcolm. The appearance and address 
of the new admiral were not at all attractive. Speaking of the contrast, the 
Emperor said, 

" Few men have so prepossessing an exterior and manner as Malcolm ; 
but the other reminds me of one of those drunken little Dutch sddppers that 



574 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLII. 

I have seen in Holland, sitting at a table with a pipe in his mouth, a cheese, 
and a bottle of Geneva before hira." 

O'Meara dined with the Emperor tete-a-tete in his study. Napoleon was 
in cheerful spirits. In the course of conversation, he made some remarks on 
the late attacks made on the validity of his title to the crown. 

"Bjthe doctrines put forth by your government writers," said he, "upon 
the subject of legitimacy, every throne in Europe would be shaken from its 
foundation. If I was not a legitimate sovereign, William the Third was a 
usurper of the throne of England, as he was brought in chiefly by the aid of 
foreign bayonets. George the First was placed on the throne by a faction 
composed of a few nobles. I was called to the throne of France by the votes 
of nearly four millions of Frenchmen. In fact, the calling of me a usurper 
is an absurdity which your ministers will, in the end, be obliged to abandon. 
If my title to the crown of France was not legitimate, what is that of George 
the Third?" 

The frugal dinner was served on a little round table. The Emperor sat 
on the sofa, and O'jMeara in an arm-chair opposite. The Emperor was tem- 
perate, even to abstinence, seldom taking even a glass of wine. He often 
spoke of the convivial habits of the English, and of their custom of becom- 
ing merry over their wine. It was understood that the English officers at 
the camp often drank to excess. Playfully the Emperor said to O'Meara, 
" I should like to see you intoxicated. Marchand, bring a bottle of Cham- 
pagne." Napoleon took one glass himself, and made O'Meara finish the rest, 
saying several times in English, ^'- 1) rink, doctor, drink!'''' 

July 4. The man who had brought the bust was an Italian. It was re- 
ported that it was executed by orders of Maria Louisa, and sent by her as a 
silent proof of her unchanged affection. Napoleon was sincerely attached to 
the amiable Maria Louisa. As he could neither write to his friends, nor re- 
ceive letters from them, without submitting the correspondence to the eye of 
Sir Hudson Lowe, the Emperor, rather than submit to such an indignity, 
preferred to endure all the untold agony of entire non-intercourse with those; 
he loved. Plis imprisonment thus became a living burial ; for such a mind 
and such a heart, the most awful doom which imagination can conceive. He 
was exceedingly anxious to see ]\Ir. Radwick, tliat he might, through him, 
receive some tidings from his wife and son. Count Bertrand earnestly plead 
with the governor to grant an interview ; but the governor was inexorable. 
He would allow tlie Emperor to see Radwick, hut only in the presence of a 
JBritish officer. Napoleon was not a man to allow even the lacerated affec- 
tions of his heart to torture him to submit to such an indignity. The man, 
guarded by Captain Poppleton, came to Longwood, but the Emperor declined 
seeing him in such a presence. Count Bertrand, however, by dictation of 
Napoleon, sent him the following letter : 

" MPv. Radwick : Sir, — I have received the marble bust of the young Na- 
poleon, and given it to his father. Its reception has given him the mdst live- 
ly satisfaction. 



1817, July.] RESIDENCE AT LONG WOOD. 575 

" I regret that it is not in your power to come and see us, and communi- 
cate to us details which would have the greatest interest for a father, and es- 
pecially for one placed in such circumstances as he is. 

" According to the letters forwarded to us, the artist values his work at 
d£100 sterling. The Emperor has commanded me to put into your hands 
the sum of £300 sterling ; the overplus is intended to indemnify you for the 
losses to which you have heen exposed in the sale of your merchandise, by 
not having been allowed to send your goods On shore, and for the prejudice 
which that event may have raised against you, but which will secure you the 
esteem of every gallant man. 

" Have the goodness to transmit to the persons who have paid him this 
obliging attention the Emperor's best thanks. 

" I have the honor to be, &c., Count Beeteand." 

Soon after Lord Amherst's amval, Dr. O'Meara dined with him at Planta- 
tion House. The doctor took occasion to say to the embassador that, if ho 
went to Longwood with a view of seeing Napoleon, accompanied by the gov- 
ernor or any of his staff, he would certainly meet with a refusal, which, though 
far from the intention of Napoleon, might by others be construed into an in- 
sult ; that if his lordship came up with only his own staff, there was but 
little doubt that he would be received, provided that Napoleon should be suf- 
ficiently recovered from a swelling in his cheek with which he was then af- 
flicted. Lord Amherst assented to this arrangement. 

Soon after this, Count Bertrand waited upon Lord Amherst, and informed 
him that Napoleon had been unwell for several days, and was at that mo- 
ment suffering from ague in the face. He added,, however, that if the Em- 
peror should be in a state to see visitors before Lord Amherst's departure, he 
would receive him. 

The friends of Napoleon guarded his interests with the utmost vigilance. 
They felt personally the insult cast upon France by the British ministry in 
the assertion that the Emperor of France, the most illustrious and beloved 
monarch earth had ever known, was but a usur;ping general; that the French 
people, his supporters, were but rebels. Consequently, the more the English 
ministers endeavored to degrade the Emperor, the more vigilant were his 
friends to surround him with every external testimonial of respect and hom- 
age. Count Montholon gives the following account of the presentation of 
Lord Amherst : 

" Every thing had been prepared for Lord Amherst's audience as if the 
Emperor had been at the Tuileries. The presentation was performed by the 
grand marshal. One of Napoleon's suite was in the topographic cabinet, 
which served on this occasion as an ante-room. The valets de chambre, St, 
Denis and Noverras, were stationed at the doors of the ante-room and of the 
saloon in which the Emperor was. The suite of Lord Amherst was not to 
be presented till after the audience. Every thing was done as had been ar- 
ranged. If Lord Amherst and his embassy had been received at the Tuil- 
eries in the most splendid days of the Empire, they could not have been more 
courteous and respectful, in manner as well as speech. 



576 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLII. 

" The mission of tliis embassador to China formed the first subject of the 
conversation. PoUtics would not probably have been introduced at all had 
not Lord Amherst offered to transmit to the Prince Regent any requests which 
the Emperor might have to make to him. 

" This offer aroused in the Emperor's mind the recollection of the perpet- 
ual outrages which daily poisoned his life. 

" 'Neither your king nor your nation have any right over me,' said he, in 
a tone of deep suffering. ' England sets an example of twenty millions of 
men oppressing one individual. Sylla and Marius signed their decrees of 
proscription in the midst of combats, and with the still bloody points of their 
swords ; but the bill of the 11th of April Avas signed in the midst of peace, 
with the sceptre of a great nation, and in the sanctuary of the law. 

" ' The right of nations should at least have been the law of your minis- 
ters. But it would have paralyzed the savage hatred of some of them. They 
wanted the arbitrary right ; they uttered falsehood to the Parliament ; they 
pushed the audacity of falsehood so far as to say that they demanded the 
right of regulating my captivity, in order to treat me with more liberality than 
it was usual to grant to prisoners of war. And what use have they made 
of it ? They have delegated this discretionary power to a man chosen for 
this among men of a character known by their preceding missions, and have 
said to him, ^'- If your prisoner escape^ your career and your fortune are 
losV Is not this telling him to abuse his power ? Does not this interest 
all that is dear to man? A jailer in Europe can not impose restrictions ac- 
cording to his own caprice or panic terrors on the prisoner intrusted to his 
charge. He is obliged to confine himself to the execution of the regulations 
established by the laws or magistrates. There is but one means of taking 
from a prisoner all chance of evasion — to inclose him in a coffin. The Par- 
liament which gave Charles I.'s head to the axe — the Convention which con- 
demned Louis XVI. to die by the hand of the executioner, found excuses 
for their crimes in national interest. The bill of the 11th of April only serves 
the purposes of personal hatred. It will, sooner or later, be the shame of 
England. The Parliament which voted it forgot its sacred character, and, 
as a legislative body, committed a crime against English honor. I am not 
allowed to leave this unhealthy hut unless accompanied by a guard. I am 
forbidden to receive letters from my wife, my mother, or my family, except 
they have been read and commented on by my jailer. 

"'But of what use are these odious restrictions here? What man of 
sense can admit the possibility of my escape, when numerous cruising ves- 
sels hover round the island ; when posts are established at all points ; when 
there are signals always ready to correspond with each other ; when no ves- 
sel can approach or leave St. Helena without having been visited by the gov- 
ernor's agents ; and, finally, when hundreds of sentinels are posted round the 
limits of this place from six in the evening till six in the morning ? 

" ' But they do still more, if possible ; they want me to deny a glorious 
fact — to acknowledge the shame of my country. They will have it that 
France had no right to place the imperial crown on my head ; and pretend 



1817, July.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 577 

to wash away, hy a decree of Sir Hudson Lowe's, the holy oil with which 
the vicar of Jesus Christ anointed my forehead. The name of General Bo- 
naparte was the one which I bore at Campo Formio and at Luneville when 
I dictated terms of peace to the Emperor of Austria. I bore it at Amiens 
when I signed the peace with England. I should be proud to bear it still ; 
but the honor of France forbids me to acknowledge the King of England's 
right to annul the acts of the French people. My intention was to take the 
name of Duroc. Your ministers, and their hired assassin. Sir Hudson Lowe, 
oblige me, by their ignoble intrigues on this subject, to retain the title of the 
Emperor Napoleon. 

" ' If your government denies my right to this title, it acknowledges im- 
plicitly that Louis XVIII. reigned in France at the time when I signed the 
peace of Amiens, and when the Lords Lauderdale and Castlereagh negotiated 
with my plenipotentiaries. It does more : it acknowledges that the Cardinal 
of York reigned in England when George III. signed the peace of 1783 at 
Versailles, and denies the royalty of Charles XIII. of Sweden. To assert 
this opinion would be to give instability to all thrones, and to propagate the 
germ of aR revolution in every monarchy. 

" 'Your ministers were not contented with giving Parliament false infor- 
mation respecting my position. One of them said, in a numerous assembly 
in Ireland, that I had only made jjeace with England for the pu.rpose of de- 
ceiving, surprising, and destroying. Such calumnies against a man suffer- 
ing under their oppression, and held by the throat to prevent his raising his 
voice, must be disapproved by all men of truth and honor. 

'"I always desired peace, and sincere peace, with England. I know of 
no rivalries which should prevent two great nations from coming to an un- 
derstanding with each other, and from advancing conjointly toward the end 
aimed at by my government. I wished to fill up the abyss of revolutions, 
and to reconstruct, without shaking, the European edifice to the advantage- 
of all, by employing kings to bestow on Continental Europe the blessing of 
constitutions — a blessing which your country as well as mine only acquired 
at the price of a fearful social commotion. England had nothing more to 
fear from me as soon as she would listen to me. If Fox had lived, the face 
of Europe would have been changed. His genius and his patriotism under- 
stood me. Every great and national idea vibrated in his soul. He died, 
unfortunately for England, unfortunately for the world. Not a cannon-shot 
would have been fired on the Continent after the battle of Austerlitz if Lord 
Lauderdale's negotiations had been continued. I repeat, that I always de- 
sired peace ; I only fought to obtain it. The Congress of Vienna thinks it 
wiU secure this blessing to Europe. It is deceived. War, and a terrible 
war, is bemg hatched under the ashes of the Empire. Sooner or later, na- 
tions wiU cruelly avenge me of the ingratitude of the kings whom I crowned 
or pardoned. TeU the Prince Kegent — teU the Parliament, of which you are 
a principal member, that I await, as a favor, the axe of the executioner, to 
put an end to the outrages of my jailer.' 

" Lord Amherst heard with emotion these complaints of a great and deep- 

Oo 



578 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLII. 

ly-woiinded sovd. He did not seek to conceal the interest which he felt in 
them. He promised to tell all to the Prince Regent, and respectfully offered 
his services to intervene with Sir Hudson Lowe. 

" ' It would he useless,' said the Emperor, interrupting him ; ' crime and 
hatred toward me are equally in this man's nature. It is necessary to his 
enjoyment to torture me, like the tiger, Avho tears with his claws the prey 
whose agonies he takes pleasure in prolonging.'" 

July 9. On the evening before the battle of Waterloo, an English officer. 
Captain Elphinstone, had been grievously wounded, and Avas lying stretched 
on the field in a hopeless condition. The Emperor liappened to pass near 
him, observed his situation, and sent the surgeon in attendance on his per- 
son to make the necessary applications to stanch his wounds, from which 
the blood was copiously flowing. His natural goodness toward the wound- 
ed prompted him also to give him some wine from the silver flask which one 
of the chasseurs of the Guard always carried on service near his person. This 
providential assistance saved Captain Elphinstone's life. 

The Emperor was at that time struggling with all Europe against him. 
His physical and mental energies were oppressed by cares and toils, such as 
no mortal ever sustained before. The night was darkening around him, and 
he was pressing on to the fatal field of Waterloo. His personal attention to 
the wounded Englishman, under these circumstances, is indeed an extraordi- 
nary proof of his humanity. The Hon. John Elphinstone, brother of the 
wounded officer, president of the East India Company's establishment in 
China, in gratitude to the Emperor for tlms saving the life of a beloved broth- 
er, sent to St. Helena several small cases, containing a set of chess-men in 
ivory, of marvelously beautiful Avorkmanship, a box of dice, another of count- 
ers, and two magnificent baskets of large dimensions, all exquisitely carved. 
Each of these objects was ornamented with the imperial crown, eagles, and 
letter N. 

Sir Hudson Lowe delivered the letter announcing the arrival of these 
presents to Count Bertrand before he had opened the boxes and examined 
the contents ; but when he saw engraved upon the chess-men the eagle, the 
crown, and the letter N., he hesitated as to the propriety of allowing General 
Bonaparte to receive gifts which recognized his having once been an em- 
peror. When we reflect upon the circumstances of the case, that the Em- 
peror had saved the life of a British officer, and that the brother of this officer 
had sent these presents as an acknowledgment of his gratitude for the noble 
act, we can not refrain from expressing our sense of the unutterable mean- 
ness of the governor. Count Montholon says that a month elapsed between 
the arrival of these presents and their being delivered to the Emperor. The 
governor intimates that they were detained but a few days. When they 
were delivered,, they were sent, however, with an insulting letter. "He wrote 
to Bertrand," it is stated in his official documents, "saying that if he were 
to act in strict conformity with the established rules., he ought to delay send- 
ing them; hut that., as he had promised that the boxes should follow the 
letter, he had no alternative hit to se7id them.'''' We can not wonder that 



1817, July.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 579 

a magnanimous man like Napoleon should have despised Sir Hudson Lowe 
even to loathing. It must have been to him constant torture to he com- 
pelled to have any intercourse with such a spirit. 

The exiled, captive Emperor could take but little pleasure in receiving 
gifts which had thus been soiled by the touch of the governor. But in his 
dreary chamber he endeavored to forget these outrages. In the evening he 
gathered his companions around him, and they passed a cheerful hour in ex- 
amining and admiring the exquisite workmanship of the articles. "I will 
send," said he, "the work-basket to the Empress Maria Louisa, the box of 
counters to my mother, and the chess-men and superb board to my son." 

In reference to these gifts, Mrs. Abell records the following pleasing inci- 
dent : 

" Early one morning, while I was wandering about the gardens and plant- 
ations at Longwood, I encountered the Emperor, who stopped, told me to 
come with him, and he would show me some pretty toys. Such an invita- 
tion was not to be resisted, and I accordingly accompanied him to his bill- 
iard-room, where he displayed a most gorgeously-carved set of chess-men, 
which had been presented to him by Mr. Elphinstone. He might well call 
them toys, every one being in itself a gem. The castles, siurmounting su- 
perbly chased elephants, were filled with warriors in the act of discharging 
arrows from their bended bows ; the knights were cased in armor, with their 
visors up, and mounted on beautifully caparisoned horses ; mitred bishops 
appeared in their flowing robes ; and every pawn was varied in character and 
splendor of costume, each figure furnishing a specimen of the dress of some 
different nation. 

" Such workmanship had never before left China : art and taste had been 
exerted to the utmost to devise such rare specimens of skill and elegance. 
The Einperor was as much pleased with his present as I should have been 
with a new plaything. He told me he had just finished a game of chess 
with Lady Malcolm with these beautiful things, and "that she had beaten 
liim — he thought, solely from his attention having been occupied in admiring 
the men instead of considering the game. The work-boxes and card-count- 
ers were lovely, the latter representing all the varied trades of China mi- 
nutely executed in carving. 

" Napoleon observed that he thought the chess-men too pretty for St. He- 
lena, and that therefore he should transmit them to the King of Rome. An- 
other present which attracted my attention was a superb ivory tea-chest, 
which, when open, presented a perfect model of the city of Canton, most in- 
geniously manufactured of stained ivory ; underneath this tray were packets 
of the finest tea, done up in fantastic shapes." 

Lord Bathurst was a congenial spirit with Sir Hudson Lowe. He subse- 
quently — September 18, 1817 — wrote to the governor, approving of his hav- 
ing forwarded Mr. Elphinstone's present to Longwood " under the circum- 
stance of his having inadvertently given the assurance that it should he 
sent,'''' He added, however, "I am so sensible of the inconvenience which 
may result from permitting General Bonaparte to receive any thing ad- 



580 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLII. 

dressed to him as a sovereign prince, that I deem it necessary to instruct you 
that, in case of any present being hereafter forwarded to General Bonaparte 
to which emblems or titles of sovereignty are annexed, you are to consider 
that circumstance as altogether precluding its delivery, if they can not be re- 
moved without prejudice to the present itself." 

July 11. The Emperor was busy in his study when Dr. 0']\leara called. 
In the course of conversation, he remarked, 

" If your Prince Regent were now to offer me a reception in England 
provided I would resign the throne of France, acknowledge myself a prison- 
er of war, and sign a treaty as such, I would refuse it, and prefer remaining 
here, although I have already abdicated, and therefore the first Avould be of 
no consequence. To sign a treaty acknowledging that the injustice of the 
English Parliament in detaining me as a prisoner of war in time of peace was 
lawful, I would never do. A treaty not to quit such part of England as 
might be allotted to me, nor to meddle with politics, and be subject to certain 
restrictions, I would gladly consent to, and, moreover, would desire to be 
naturalized as a British subject. 

" The two grand objects of my policy were, first, to re-establish the king- 
dom of Poland, as a barrier against the Russians, that I might save Europe 
from those barbarians of the north ; and next, to expel the Bourbons from 
Spain, and establish a Constitution which would have rendered the nation 
free, have driven away the Inquisition, superstition, the friars, feudal rights 
and immunities ; a Constitution wliicli w^ould have rendered the first offices 
in the Idngdom attainable to any person entitled to hold them by his abilities, 
without any distinction of birth being necessary. With tlie imhecilles who 
reigned, Spain was nearly useless to me ; besides, I discovered that they had 
made a secret treaty to betray Prance. With an active government, the 
great resources which Spain possesses would have been made use of against 
England with such vigor that you would have been forced to make a peace 
according to liberal maritime rights. Also, I did not like to have a family 
of enemies so near to me, especially after I had discovered this secret treaty. 
I was anxious to disj)Ossess the Bourbons ; they were equally anxious to 
dispossess me. It mattered little whether my brother or another family were 
placed on the throne, provided the Bourbons were removed. In thirty or 
forty years, the ties of relationship would signify nothing when the interests 
of a kingdom were under discussion. 

"It would," continued Naj)oleon, "have been a very easy matter to have 
made the French and Enpiish food friends, and love one another. The 
French always esteemed the English for their national qualities, and w^here 
esteem exists love will soon follow, if proper measures be pursued ; they are 
very nearly akin. I myself have done much mischief to England, and had 
it in contemplation to do much more, if you continued the war. But I nev- 
er ceased to esteem you. I had then a much better opinion of you than I 
now have. I thought that there was much more liberty, much more inde- 
pendence of spirit, and much more generosity in England than there is, or I 
never would have ventured upon the step I liave taken." 



1817, July.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 53I 

July 18. Count Bertrand wrote a very cutting letter in reply to the insult- 
ing communication of the governor, in which he said, " We are not aware 
that we may not be permitted to possess any article on which there is a 
crown. If so, it would also he necessary to make new packs of cards, he- 
cause there are crowns on those which are now used. The Emperor's linen, 
and the small quantity of plate still in his possession, are often taken to town. 
They are marked with a crown. The Emperor wishes for favor from no one, 
and will have nothing from the caprice of any person whatever. But he 
has a right to know the restrictions which are imposed upon him. I beg 
you, then, sir, to communicate to us these fresh restrictions. The Emperor 
charges me to protest against the existence of any restriction which shall not 
have legally been notified to him before being put into execution." 

Sir Hudson Lowe, in his reply, remarks, 

" The only object which I had in writing to you on the 8th of this month 
was to prevent a belief from being entertained that I tacitly acknowledged or 
approved of the imperial rank being recognized in the crown placed every 
where above the initial letter of Napoleon in presents sent to St. Helena, 
particularly by an EngHsh subject, and coming from an English factory. 

" The person who sent these presents has his personal opinions, but I 
have the right of exercising my judgment in not permitting him to express 
them through me ; and in forwarding the presents to their destination, with- 
out any other remarks than those contained in my letter, I did the utmost 
which could be required of me by the respect which the wishes or expecta- 
tions of General Bonaparte demand from me." 

Count Bertrand's letter, which was written the evening after the presents 
were received, excited vehemently the anger of the governor. The next day 
he saw Dr. O'Meara, and censured him for not defending more cordially the 
course pursued by the English ministers in their treatment of the Emperor. 
He denied most positively that he had ever thought of breaking the bust. 
In reference to this accusation, which was making much noise upon the isl- 
and, the governor remarked to O'Meara, 

"You do not appear to have testified sufficient indignation at what Gen- 
eral Bonaparte said and did. You ought to have told him that he was guilty 
of a dirty action. " He added that Bertrand had written him the most im- 
pertinent letter he had ever received, and deserved, for it, to be turned off the 
island. He also denied that Mr. Badwick had been prevented from landing 
at St. Helena to dispose of his goods. The governor requested O'Meara to 
repeat to General Bonaparte these remarks. Napoleon, annoyed by such 
constant petty vexations, hstened to them with visible impatience, and then 
calmly said, 

" Mr. Bad wick declared before Madam Bertrand that he had been pre- 
vented from going on shore for several days, and, consequently, had been 
obliged to sell his little venture to Solomon or some other shop-keeper at 
half price, and had thereby sustained a great loss." 

"This," Dr. O'Meara observes, "was an unquestionable fact, and notori- 
ous on the island." 



582 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLII. 

O'Meara inquired, " What answer shall I return ?" 

For a moment the Emperor paced the floor in silence, apparently hesita- 
ting whether it were best to return any answer. Then suddenly stopping, 
he remarked with energy, 

" Tell the governor that I am not obliged to render an account to my ex- 
ecutioner. He addresses insinuations to me. This was the practice of the 
petty tyrants of Italy. This man seems to have no other object in view than 
to kill me by degrees. Some day or other his prince and his nation will be 
informed of his doings, and his wicked conduct will be known ; and if he 
escape the justice of the laws which he violates, he will not escape that of 
the opinion of enlightened and feeling men. He is an unfaithful commis- 
sioner. He deceives his government, as is evident from the twenty false- 
hoods and calumnies in the speech of Lord Bathurst. 

" His conduct with regard to the bust of my son, which is proved, is abom- 
inable, and of a piece with all his actions for the last twelve months. Till 
the end of December his conduct has been that of a man who would assas- 
sinate me. Since then, he has been somewhat more tranquil. I judge of 
men by their conduct. I do not read the hearts of men. God alone reads 
their hearts." 

Then addressing himself to Dr. O'Meara in gentle reproach for continually 
annoying him with messages from the governor, he said, 

" Leave me alone. Do your duty as a doctor, but do not stick pins into 
me. Let us speak of medicine, but do not torment me with those insinua- 
tions." 

Afterward the Emperor remarked, " I informed Lord Amherst of the con- 
duct pursued toward me. He declared that such were not the intentions of 
the bill ; that the object of it was not to render worse, but to ameliorate my 
situation as a prisoner, and that he would not fjiil to make known the repre- 
sentations I had made to him to the Prince Regent, to Lord Liverpool, and 
to Lord Bathurst. He asked permission to report what I said to the gov- 
ernor. I replied, certainly. I told him that I had observed the governor tak- 
ing him round the new road he had made, but that I supposed he had not 
communicated to him that I could neither quit it nor go into any houses, 
and that a prohibition had formerly existed which debarred me from speak- 
ing to such persons as I might meet. At this he was bemicoup frajpjpe^ 
greatly struck. He proposed that I should see the governor. I replied, 
* Neither your prince, nor both of your houses of Parliament, can oblige me 
to see my jailer and my executioner.' I told him that he had pushed mat- 
ters to such an extremity that, in order to leave nothing in his power, I had 
confined myself to my room, expecting that he would surround the house 
with sentinels. I left nothing for him to effect except violating my privacy, 
wliich he could not have done without walking over my corpse.* That I 

* The Emperor was so firmly impressed with the idea that an attempt would be made forcibly to 
intrude on his privacy, that for a short time after the departure of Sir George Cockburn he always 
kept four or five pairs of loaded pistols and some swords in his apartments, with which he was de- 
termined to dispatch the first who entered against his will. 



1817, July,] RESIDENCE At LONGWOOD. 583 

would not commit suicide, iDut would exult in being assassinated bj an En- 
glishman. Instead of drawing back, it would be a consolation to me in my 
last moments." 

Dr. O'Meara reported this conversation to Sir Hudson Lowe. The gov- 
ernor was exceedingly angry and violent. 

"After he had expended some portion of his wrath," says Dr. O'Meara, 
" I observed that I had attempted his defense to the best of my abilities, but 
that I did not think that he ought to be much surprised at Napoleon's not 
being on good terms with him, when he considered what material alterations 
had taken place in his situation since his arrival, all which tended to render 
Napoleon's situation more unpleasant. A long discussion now followed, dur- 
ing which I recounted to his excellency some of his own restrictions ; among 
others, that one in which he prohibited Napoleon from speaking ; at which 
he again became very angry, and insisted that it was not a prohibition — it was 
only a request ; that it was not his fault if General Bonaparte did not choose 
to ride out. I took the liberty, then, of asking the following question : 

"'Place yourself, sir, in Napoleon's situation: would you have availed 
yourself of the permission to ride out, coupled with the restrictions imposed 
upon him ?' 

"His excellency refused to reply to this question, which he pronounced to 
be an insult to him as governor and representative of his majesty. He con- 
cluded by telling me that 'Z loas not j)ermitted for the future to hold any 
conversation with General Bonaparte unless upon professional subjects^ 
and ordering me to come to town every Monday and Thursday in order 
to report to him General Bonaparte s health and his habits.'' " 

July 21. Dr. O'Meara had another disagreeable discussion with the gov- 
ernor, and became so disgusted with his petty tyranny, and found himself ex- 
posed to such insults, that he requested to be removed from his situation as 
physician to Napoleon. 

" Sir Hudson Lowe," he says, " took every opportunity of venting upon 
me all thes ill-humor he could not personally discharge upon his prisoner; 
and I, perceiving that all hopes of accommodation between the parties had 
vanished when Admiral Malcolm departed, and that all my efforts to amel- 
iorate the situation of the captive were fruitless, determined to confine my- 
self as much as possible to my medical duties, and to avoid all unnecessary 
communication with a man who could avail himself of his irresponsible sit- 
uation as a means of insulting an inferior officer." 



584 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ClIAP. XLIII. 



CHAPTER XLIII. 
1817, August. 

Rumor of a Removal to Malta — Remarks upon the English Ministers — The Emperor's Birth-day — 
Fondness for Children — Blindman's Buff — Anecdotes — The Queen of Prussia — Malta — Interest- 
ing Remarks — Maria Louisa — The Restoration of the Bourbons — Dethronement of the Spanish 
Princes — Robespierre — Talleyrand — Fouche — Carnot. 

August 10. A newspaper recently received from Europe mentioned a ru- 
mor that the Emperor was to he removed from St. Helena to the island of 
Malta. 

" I can not credit it," said the Emperor, " for I should create less alarm in 
England tlian in Malta. The governor is exceedingly unpoHtic m treating 
me in such a way as to render me an ohject of sympathy to Europe. The 
greatest indignation will be excited hy it. Nothing could have happened to 
lessen the English so much in the estimation of other nations. It wiU con- 
firm them in the opinions of your government which the emigrants who re- 
turned from England have disseminated. They returned filled with hatred 
against your ministers, wdiom they accused of having acted in the most par- 
simonious manner, and descending to the most minute and unworthy details." 

August 15. This was the Emperor's hirth-day. He was forty-eight years 
of age. He was in a gloomy prison, and exposed to cruel insults. For a 
long time he had been closely shut up in his room, that he might escape the 
sight of his jailers, and that he might not expose himself to the indignity of 
being challenged and turned from his path by a sentinel. Though his health 
was rapidly declining, and, in the highest maturity of liis powers, he was 
fast descending to the grave, he strove to beguile the weary hours by inces- 
sant intellectual occupation. For a long time he had risen at four o'clock in 
the morning, and had, with unremitted diligence through the dayj devoted 
himself to reading and writing. 

To-day, with cheerful countenance and affectionate smiles, he received his 
friends in his shabbily-furnished and rat-infested room. In celebration of 
the anniversary of his birth-day, they all dined together. Even the two 
babes of Madam Bertrand and Madam Montholon were brought in to receive 
the caresses of the Emperor. Napoleon became the playmate of the rest of 
the children, engaged heartily with them in their sports, and dismissed them 
all with a present. As he retired alone to his pillow after all had gone, the 
night wind sighed around his dreary abode, and the emotions struggling in 
his breast were revealed only to Him who is the friend of the captive and 
the avenger of the oppressed. Napoleon nobly reserved his griefs for him- 
self, while he cheered his companions with cheerfulness and smiles. 

We have often mentioned Napoleon's fondness for children, and the cor- 
diality with which he entered into all their sports. While at the Briers, 



1817, August] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 585 

when the Emperor's spirits were not crushed as now "by insult and outrage, 
he often, with great joyousness, Ibecame, as it were, himself again a child. 
Little Betsj Balcombe he often fondled upon his knee, and for her amuse- 
ment the Emperor cheerfully consented to engage in infantile games. The 
following scene, described by her in after years, will be read with interest : 

" I had often entreated the Emperor to give a ball, before he left the Briers 
for Longwood, in the large room occupied by him, and which had been built 
by my father for that purpose. He had promised me faithfully he would ; 
but when I pressed him urgently for the fulfillment of his word, he only 
laughed at me, telling me he wondered how I could be so silly as to think 
such a thing possible ; but I never ceased reproaching him for his breach of 
faith, and teased him so, that at last, to escape my importunities, he said 
that, as the ball was out of the question, he would consent, by way of amende 
honorable^ to any thing I chose to demand to console me for my disappoint- 
ment. 

"I replied instantly. If yoti will play the game of blindman's buff, that 
you have so often promised me, I will forgive you the ball, and never ask 
for it again. He laughed at my choice, and tried to persuade me to choose 
something else, but I was inexorable ; and, seeing his fate inevitable, he re- 
signed himself to it with a good grace, proposing we should begin at once. 
My sister and myself, and the son of General Bertrand, and some others of 
the Emperor's suite, formed the party. Napoleon said we should draw lots 
who should be blindfolded first, and he would distribute the tickets. Some 
slips of paper were prepared, on one of which was written the fatal word ' la 
mort,' and the rest were blanks. Whether accidentally, or by Napoleon's 
contrivance, I know not, but I was the first victim, and the Emperor, taking 
a cambric handkerchief out of his pocket, tied it tightly over my eyes, ask- 
ing me if I could see. 

" ' I can not see you,' I replied ; but a faint gleam of light did certainly 
escape through one corner, making my darkness a httle less visible. Na- 
poleon then, taking his hat, waved it suddenly before my eyes, and the shadow 
and the wind it made startling me, I drew back my head. 

" 'Ah, leetlemonkee,'he exclaimed, in English, 'you can see pretty well.' 
He then proceeded to tie another handkerchief over the first, which complete- 
ly excluded every ray of light. I was then placed in the middle of the room, 
and the game began. The Emperor commenced by creeping stealthily up to 
me, and giving my nose a very sharp twinge ; I knew it was he both from 
the act itself and from his footstep. I darted forward, and very nearly suc- 
ceeded in catching him ; but, bounding actively away, he eluded my grasp. I 
then groped about, and, advancing again, he this time took hold of my ear 
and pulled it. I stretched out my hands instantly, and in the exultation of 
the moment screamed out, ' I have got you — I have got you ; now you shall 
be blindfolded ! " but, to my mortification, it proved to be my sister, under 
cover of whom Napoleon had advanced, stretching his hand over her head. 

"We then recommenced, the Emperor saying that as I had named the 
wrong person, I must continue blindfolded. He teased and quizzed me about 



586 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChA^. XLIII. 

my mistake, and bantered me in every possible way, eluding, at the same 
time, with the greatest dexterity, all my endeavors to catch him. At last, 
when the fun was growing fast and furious, and the uproar was at its height, 
it was announced that some one desired an audience of the Emperor, and, to 
my great annoyance, as I had set my heart on catching him and insisting on 
his being blindfolded, our game came to a conclusion." 

August 17. "Saw Napoleon at two o'clock," says Dr. O'Meara. "He 
was in extremely good humor, and very facetious, cracking jokes upon vari- 
ous subjects, and rallying me about a young lady in the island." 

" When I made my triumphal entry into Berlin," said Napoleon, " the 
mother of the Prince of Orange, the sister of tlie king, was left behind, sick, 
in the upper apartments of the palace, and very badly off, having been aban- 
doned without money, and neglected by almost every body. A day or two 
after my arrival there, some of her attendants came to ask for assistance, as 
they had not wherewithal to procure even fuel for her use. The king, in- 
deed, had neglected her most shamefully. The moment it was made known 
to me, I ordered a hundred thousand francs [$25,000] to be instantly sent, 
and went to see her myself afterward. I caused her to be furnished with 
every thing befitting her rank, and we had frequent interviews together. She 
was much obliged to me, and a kind of friendship commenced betAveen us." 

Napoleon then spoke of the late Queen of Prussia in very high terms ; 
said that he had an esteem for her, and that, if the king had brought her at 
first to Tilsit, it would, in all probability, have procured him better terms. 
" She was elegant, ingenuous, and extremely well informed." 

O'Meara observed to the Emperor that his enemies had accused him of 
having treated her very barbarously. 

" What !" said he, " do they say that I poisoned her too ?" 

O'Meara replied, " No ; but they asserted that you had been the means of 
her death, in consequence of the misfortunes which you had caused to befall 
her country." 

" Why," replied Napoleon, " that grief for the fallen situation of her hus- 
band and her country, and for the losses they had sustained, and the humili- 
ated state they were reduced to, may have accelerated her death, is very prob- 
able. But that was not my fault. Why did her husband declare war 
against me ? However, instead of treating her barbarously, nobody could 
have paid her more attention or respect, or have esteemed her more, for 
which I received her thanks." 

Napoleon then made some observations about Malta, an abode with which 
he declared he would be satisfied for some years, professing at the same time 
his disbelief of such being the intentions of government. He added, " The 
best thing the English government could do would be to make a kind of treaty 
with me, by which I would bind myself not to quit Malta for a certain num- 
ber of years without the permission of the Prince Regent, Avith a condition 
that at the expiration of the time I should be received in England. This 
would save the nation six or eight millions of francs yearly. It would," 
added he, "have been much more honorable to England, and more humane, 



1817, August.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOU, 587 

to Jiavc caused me to be shot on board of the BeUeropJton, in the rage of the 
moment, than to have condemned me to he exiled to such a rock as this. 
They might have excused themselves by saying, 'It is necessary for the 
tranquillity of Europe to put this man out of the way.' This would have at 
once freed them from all alarm, and saved millions to their treasury, besides 
being much more merciful. It would have Ijcen more lionorable, more con- 
sistent with policy, and, above all, more humane, to have caused me to be 
quietly sliot on board of the Jiellerophon, It would have been preferred by 
mys(;If. I really tliink that Lord Jiatliurst imagined that, by a series of ill- 
treatment and humiliation, they would induce me to commit suicide, and, 
for that purpose, found his man. The very idea of this, if I ever had any 
thouglits of doing so, would effectually prevent my putting it into execu- 
tion." 

August 22. " Saw Napoleon," says O'Mcara, "at twelve o'clock. lie has 
continued to rise at four o'clock in the morning, and to employ his time in 
reading and writing. Pointed out to me that he liad been obliged to cause 
his coat to be turned, as there was no green cloth on the island. * The min- 
istry,' said lie, ' do not know how to separate the man from the situation. As 
First Consul, as Emperor, being at war with J^^ngland, I did her as much 
harm as I could ; but as plain Napoleon Bonaparte now, when all the world 
is at peace, what right have they to detain me as prisoner ? It is a great 
nation going to war with one man. 

" 'The eyes of the English,' he continued, 'will soon be opened with re- 
spect to my character. They will see the folly and injustice of keeping me 
in tin's island ; an island so bad that I can compare it to nothing else than 
the face of the wretch they have sent out as governor. This, and the enor- 
mous expense, will cause mj removal.' " 

O'Mcara observed that he was afraid the present disturbed state of En- 
gland would operate most powerfully against his being permitted to go to 
England. 

'"Bali. !" replied the Emperor ; " your ministers are not silly enough to be- 
lieve that I would lose my character so far as to put myself at tlic head of a 
mob, even if the latter were willing to put a foreigner at their head, which is 
very unlikely. Even in France I "refused to do it. I have too great a re- 
gard for tlie reputation I shall leave to posterity to act the adventurer. No, 
no, it is hatred, and the fear they have of the information I could give. 
They are afraid I should say it 'uma not true* in reply to the histories of 
many political events which they have explained in their own way. 

" What do you think," said he, " of all things in the world, would give me 
the greatest pleasure ?" O'Meara was on the point of replying, removal from 
St. Helena, when he said, 

" To be able to go about incognito in London and other parts of England, 
to the eating-houses, with a friend, to dine in public at the expense of half a 
guinea or a guinea, and listen to the conversation of the company ; to go 
through them all, changing almost daily, and in this manner, with my owa 

* ThcKC words were spoken in English. 



588 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLIII. 

ears, to liear the people express their sentiments, in their unguarded moments, 
freely and without restraint ; to hear their real opinion of myself, and of the 
surprising occurrences of the last twenty years." 

O'Meara observed that he would hear much evil and much good of him- 
self. 

" Oh, as to the evil," the Emperor replied, " I care not about that ; I am 
well used to it. Besides, I know that the public opinion will be changed. 
The nation will be just as much disgusted at the libels published against 
me as they formerly were greedy in reading and believing them. This," 
added he, " and the education of my son, would form my greatest pleasure. 
It was my intention to have done this, had I reached America. The happi- 
est days of my life were from sixteen to twenty, during the furloughs, when 
I used to go about, as I have told you I should wish to do, from one restau- 
7'ateur to another, living moderately, and having a lodging for which I paid 
three louis a montli. They were the happiest days of my life. I was al- 
ways so much occupied that I may say I never was truly happy upon the 
throne. Not that I have to reproach myself with doing evil while seated 
there ; on the contrary, I restored fifty thousand families to their country, 
and the improvements I made in France will speak for themselves. I made 
war, certainly ; of this there is no doubt ; but in almost every instance I was 
either forced to it, or I had some great political object in view. 

" Had I died at Moscow," continued he, " I sliould have left behind me a 
reputation as a conqueror without a parallel in history. A bullet ought to 
have put an end to me there ; whereas, when a man like me dies in misfor- 
tune, his reputation is lessened. Then I had never received a check. No 
doubt afterward, at Lutzen and Bautzen, with an army of recruits and with- 
out cavalry, I re-established my reputation, and the campaign of 1814, with 
such an inferior force, did not lessen it." 

O'Meara observed that the generality of the world was surprised that he 
had not made a peace at Chatillon, when circumstances were apparently des- 
perate for him. 

Napoleon replied, "I could not consent to render the Empire less than 
what it was when I mounted the throne ; I had sworn to preserve it. More- 
over, the allied powers each day brought forth some condition more inadmis- 
sible than on the preceding one. You may think it strange, but I assure 
you that I would not sign it now. Had I remained on the throne after the 
return from Elba, I would have kept the treaty, because I found it made, but 
I would not have made it myself originally . " 

O'Meara took tlie liberty of asking what he considered to be the happiest 
time of his life since his elevation to the throne. 

"The march from Cannes to Paris," was his reply. 

O'Meara ventured to express his surprise to Napoleon that the Empress 
Maria Louisa had not made some exertion in his behalf. 

"I believe," replied the Emperor, "that Maria Louisa is just as much a 
state prisoner as I am myself, except that more attention is paid to decorum 
in the restraints imposed upon her. I have always had occasion to praise 



1817, August.] RESIDENCE TA LONGWOOD. 589 

the conduct of my good Louisa, and I believe that it is totally out of her 
power to assist me; moreover, she is young and timorous." 

August 24. The difficulty hetween Dr. O'Meara and Sir Hudson Lowe 
was rapidly approaching a crisis. In an angry and insulting interview, the 
governor demanded that the doctor should report to him every thing that was 
said or done in Napoleon's chamber. O'Meara refused thus to act the part 
of a spy over his patient. The conversation in the Emperor's chamber to- 
day turned upon the restoration of the Bourbons. 

"Never yet," said Napoleon, " has "there been so much political imbecility 
displayed by man as there has been by Lord Castlereagh. A king is forced 
upon the throne contrary to the wishes and to the opinion of the people, and 
then, as a mode of ingratiating himself with that people, and of conciliating 
them, he is compelled to make them pay contributions ruinous to the coun- 
try. They have made the Bourbons the executioners of their people. Then, 
again, those Bourbons have made a concordat with the Pope, which would not 
have answered in the tenth or fifteenth century. They have agreed to es- 
tablish by degrees all the laivs of the Church. What does this mean but 
the suppression of Protestantism and of all other religions except the Roman 
Catholic ? You know that the Roman doctrine is, that out of the pale of the 
Church no one can be saved. It is, in fact, re-establishing all the old big- 
otry and superstition, and even the Inquisition, as that was one of the laws 
of the Church. - 

"The Protestants mast see that the intention of this concordat is to de- 
prive them of the liberty of worship, and to tolerate no religion but the Ro- 
man Catholic. The Protestants will be worse than before the Revolution, 
at which time, if one of them wanted to marry, he was obliged to say that he 
was a Catholic. Though their churches were then in a manner tolerated, 
yet, if they frequently opened them, they were visited and tormented by the 
police. That priest-ridden king has been imbecile enough to give his con- 
sent to a measure that will ultimately cause the assassination of the priests. 
At one time I had myself the greatest difficulty in preventing the people from 
accomplishing it. Oh, those Bourbons ! Well may the Erench say they 
have learned nothing, they have forgotten nothing. They rest upon a sleep- 
ins: lion. I see France in a flame. I see rivers of blood flowino-. You will 
behold a general massacre of the Bourbons take place ; the old noblesse, the 
priests, and many an innocent Englishman and friend to liberty will pay the 
forfeit of his life to expiate the wicked policy of Lord Castlereagh. The im- 
agination always exceeds the reality, and the gTeat latitude given in the con- 
cordat to the king and to the priests to revive all the ancient superstition and 
intolerance will set France in a flame, and produce another revolution of ' red 
bonnets,'' and ' down with the jpriests.'' " 

August 25. The Emperor received Dr. O'Meara in quite a glow of cheer- 
ful spirits. Speaking of the dethronement of the Spanish princes, he said, 

"The fact is, that, had it not been for their broils and quarrels among 
themselves, I should never have thought of dispossessing them. When I 
saw those imbeciles quarreling and trying to dethrone each other, I thought 



590 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLIII. 

that I miglit as well take advantage of it and dispossess an inimical family ; 
but I was not the contriver of their disputes. Had I known at first that the 
transaction would have given me so mucli trouble, or that it would even have 
cost the lives of two hundred men, I never would have attempted it ; but, 
being once embarked, it was necessary to go forward." 

Speaking of the French Revolution, O'Meara asked the Emperor's opinion 
about Robespierre. 

"Robespierre," replied Napoleon, "was by no means the worst character 
who figured in the Revolution. He opposed trying the queen. He was not 
an Atheist ; on the contrary, he had publicly maintained the existence of a 
Supreme Being, in opposition to many of his colleagues. Neither was he of 
opinion that it was necessary to exterminate all priests and nobles, like many 
others. Marat, for example, maintained that, to insure the liberties of France, 
it was necessary that six hundred thousand heads should fall. Robespierre 
wanted to proclaim the king an outlaw, and not to go through the ridiculous 
mockery of trying him. Robespierre was a fanatic, a monster, but he was 
incorruptible, and incapable of robbing, or of causing the deaths of others 
either from personal enmity or a desire of enriching himself. He was an 
enthusiast, but one wlio really believed that he was acting right, and died 
not worth a sou. In some respects Robespierre may be said to have been 
an honest man. 

" It was truly astonishing," added Napoleon, " to see those fanatics, who, 
bathed up to the elbows in blood, woiild not for the world have taken a piece 
of money, or a watch, belonging to the victims they were butchering. At 
the very time that Marat and Robespierre were committing those massacres, 
if Pitt had offered them two hundred millions, they would have refused it 
with indignation. They even tried and g-uillotined some of their own num- 
ber, such as Fabre d'Eglantine, who were guilty of plundering. 

" Not so Talleyrand, Danton, Barras, Fouche. They were mere actors, 
and would have espoused any side for money. Talleyrand is the most vile 
of agitators, corrupt, unprincipled, but a man of talent ; an actor ready to 
sell himself and every thing to the best bidder. Barras was such another. 
When I commanded the army of Italy, Barras made the Venetian embassa- 
dor pay to him two hundred thousand dollars for writing a letter, begging of 
me to be favorable to the republic of Venice. I never paid any attention to 
such letters. From my first career I always commanded myself. Talley- 
rand, in like manner, sold every thing. Fouche in a less degree. His traf- 
fic was in an inferior line. Of all the sanguinary monsters who reigned in 
the Revolution, Billaud de Varennes was the worst. Carnot is the most 
honest of men. He left France without a sou." 



1817, September.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 591 



CHAPTER XLIV. 

1817, SeptemLer. 

Influence of Libels — St. Helena chosen by Wellington — Remarks on Sir Hudson Lowe — Society 
of Ladies — St. Domingo — The Manuscript from St. Helena — Anecdote of the lent Horse — Ross 
Cottage — The Earthquake — Remarks on the Restrictions — Aristocratic Pride. 

September 2. A vessel arrived bringing some European journals. One of 
the London papers contained a furious assault upon the Emperor. Napo- 
leon, having read the fierce invective with perfect composure, calmlj remarked, 

" Scurrility and obloquy will now rather serve than injure me. These at- 
tempts to debase m j character will now be unavailing, in consequence of the 
free communication of the English with France. The vast number of En- 
glish who have had access to the Continent wiU long ago have discovered 
and published that I am not that monster I have been described in the En- 
glish and French libels. Thej have found out their mistake, and will blush 
at the idea of having been so grossly deceived. I would deshe no better 
vindication of my character than their opinion. The time for libels against 
me is past. A moderate criticism upon my actions, well managed, well writ- 
ten, and not too highly exaggerated, would be infinitely more injurious to me 
than all the furious diatribes in the Quarterly Review style." 

A letter was also received by this ship, informing Count Bertrand that 
sixty thousand dollars had been deposited in the hands of Messrs. Baring, 
Brothers, and Co., of London, to his credit. As this money did not belong- 
to the Emperor, the English ministers, who had ah'eady rifled Napoleon's 
trunks, did not venture to seize it. 

In the course of conversation, the Emperor remarked, 

" Have you ever heard that Lord Wellington was the person who first 
proposed to send me to St. Helena ?" 

" I have heard so," O'Meara rephed, "but have not given the report any 
credit." 

" If it be true," said the Emperor, "it will reflect but little honor upon 
him in the eyes of posterity." 

Septemher 3. "When O'Meara called, he found the Emperor alone in his 
room, reading the Bible aloud. He spoke of the annoyances to which Count 
Bertrand was exposed in his endeavor to get bills, which Las Casas had left 
upon London, cashed, and remarked, 

" Even the bills and salaries of the servants are minutely examined, 
and every trifling sum obliged to be accounted for. Useless vexations ; as 
every man of sense must know that it would not be by means of any small 
sum that I could command here that I could escape ; and that, though I have 
no money here, I have it at the extremity of my fingers. But this man has 
the rage to meddle in every thing. If he had Iiis will, he would order me to 



592 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLIV. 

breakfast at a certain hour, dine at another, go to bed at a time prescribed 
by him, and come himself to see it carried into execution. All will fall upon 
himself one day. lie does not know that what passes here Avill be recorded 
in history, lie sent a letter to Bertrantl, in rejily to the one written by him 
about the new restrictions, Avhich convinces me, more than any thing he 
has ever yet done, that he is destitute of conmion sense. lie avows his 
atrocious deeds. He says that he has authority to rip up the cover of a 
book, or to examine any piece of furniture in such a manner as to render it 
unserviceable either for ornament or utility, to search for letters. By his 
reasoning, he ought not to send up a loaf of bread, or a joint of meat, or a 
pair of shoes, as letters might be concealed in them, and frequently have been 
in the soles of the latter. Nothiug but the publication of that letter is want- 
ing to convince the ministers that he is an imbecile."* 

September 4. The weather was exceedingly bad, the walls were drenched 
Avith moisture, and the Kmperor was sutfering from a severe cold. Still, he 
received Dr. O'Meara with his accustomed cheerfulness and smiles. He had 
fires built in his rooms to dispel the moisture, though the governor complain- 
ed bitterly that so nnich fuel was consumed, and threatened to put the in- 
mates of Longwood upon an allowance. The companions of the Emperor 
informed the governor that they were perfectly willing to pay for the wood 
themselves. 

In the course of conversation with Dr. 0']\leara, Napoleon remarked, 

" Northern people require the bottle to develop their ideas ; and the En- 
glish appear, in general, to prefer the bottle to the ladies, as is exemplified by 
)'0ur allowing the ladies to retire from the table, Avhile you remain for hours 
to drink. Were I in England, I should always leave with the ladies. If 
your object is to converse instead of to drink, why not allow them to be pres- 
ent ? Surely conversation is never so lively or so witty as when ladies take 
a part in it. If I Avere an Englishwoman, I should feel very discontented at 
being turned out by the men to wait for two or three liours while they were 
guzzling their Avine. Now, in Erance, society is nothing unless ladies arc 
present. They are the life of conversation." 

*' One of the greatest follies I ever Avas guilty of Avas sending that army 
out to St. Domingo. I oiTght to liaA'C prevented the possibility of its being 
cifected. I committed a gTcat oversight and fault in not having declared St. 
Domingo free, acknoAvledged the black government, and, before the peace of 

* In this long communication the governor says, 

•' Presents may be as obnoxious to the security of detention as a letter, and might require to bo 
examined with a minuteness that would baflle any purpose of ornament or utility to be derived 
from them. A letter may be concealed under the squares of a chess-board, or the folds of a book 
cover, as well as in the lining of a waistcoat ; and 1 am not necessarily called to place my tnist in 
any person by whom they are sent. 

"You ask if any regulation exists which prevents your possessing an article with a crown upon 
it. There is certainly, sir, no specillc written regulation prohibiting any article with a crown on 
it reaching Longwood, nor to prevent your possessing an object with such a decoration upon it ; 
but it was in this case the imperial crown over the initial of Xapoleon, carved, gilt, or engraved on 
almost every article. His own abdication, the convention of Paris, and the acts of the British Par- 
liament, supcr-sede the necessity of any regulations upon that head." 



1817, September.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 593 

Amiens, sent some Frencli officers to assist them. Had I done this, it would 
have been more consonant to the principles under which I was acting. It 
would have done you incalculable mischief. You would have lost Jamaica, 
and your other colonics would have followed. Having once acknowledged 
them, I could not have sent an army out there during the peace; but after 
the peace I was continually beset with applications from proprietors of es- 
tates in the colony, merchants, and others. Indeed, the nation had la rage 
to regain St. Domingo, and I was obliged to comply with it ; but had I, pre- 
vious to the peace, acknowledged the blacks, I could, under that plea, have 
refused to make any attempts to retake it, in doing which I acted contrary 
to my own judgment." 

Speaking of a work which had recently been published in Europe, entitled 
Manuscript from St. Helena, which attracted mucli attention, and which 
many attributed to the pen of the Emperor, Napoleon said, 

" Notwithstanding many mistakes as to time and place, that would make 
a corporal in the old French army laugh, it was written )jy a man of talent, 
though in several passages lie seems not to have liad common sense. In 
some places, his assertion of the motives which actuated me is correct. What 
lie says on the subject of my nobility is correct. What he says about my 
intentions and wishes to do away with every thing which had been estab- 
lished since Charlemagne is also right. That the nobility I formed was that 
of the people, is true, as I took the son of a peasant, and made him a duke or 
a marshal when I found that he had talents ; tliat I wanted to introduce a 
system of general equality is true, and that every person should be eligible 
to every situation, provided he had talents to fill it, whatever his birth might 
be ; that I wanted to do away witli all the ancient prejudices of birth is also 
correct ; that I labored to establish a government of the people, which, tliough 
rigid {dur)<, was still that of the people, is also true ; that I ought to have 
deposed, for my own security, when I liad it in my power, the house of Bran- 
denburg, and all the ancient orders of sovereigns ; and that they almost al- 
ways combined against and attacked me, is also right. 

" Probably I ought to have done so, and I should have succeeded. It is 
true that I wished to establish a government of tlie people. It is a work 
which will much displease the oligarchy, because they do not wish that any 
23erson except one of themselves should be eligible for any important situa- 
tion. With their will, birth, and not talents or capability, sliould regulate 
the choice. A worse, a more despotic or unforgiving government than an 
oligarchy never existed. Offend them once, you are never pardoned, and no 
treatment can be too cruel for you when in their power. The pamphlet is 
written with that lightness peculiar to Frenchmen, and consequently con- 
tains many mistakes." 

Septeraher 9. " One of the many instances of Napoleon's great good-na- 
ture," says Mrs. Abell, "and of his kindness in promoting my amusement, 
was on the occasion of the races at Deadwood. From having been, as was 
often the case, in arrears with my lessons, my father, by way of punishing 
me, declared tlmt I should not go to the races ; and, fearing that he might be 

Pi' 



594 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLIV. 

induced to break liis determination, lent my pony Tom to a friend of his for 
that day, j\Iy vexation was very great at not knowing where to get a horse, 
and I happened to mention my difficulty to Dr. O'Meara, who told Napoleon ; 
and my delight may he conceived when, a short time after all our party had 
left the Briers for Deadwood, I perceived the doctor winding down the mount- 
ain-path which led to our house, followed by a slave leading a superb gray 
horse called 'Mameluke,' with a lady's side-saddle and housings of crimson 
velvet embroidered with gold. Dr. O'Meara said that, on telling the Emper- 
or of my distress, he desired the quietest horse in his stable to be immedi- 
ately prepared for my use. This simply good-natured act of the Empei'or 
occasioned no small disturbance on the island, and sufficiently punished me 
for acting contrary to my father's wishes by the pain it gave me to hear that 
he was considered to have committed a breach of discipline in permitting one 
of his family to ride a horse belonging to the Longwood establishment, and 
for which he was reprimanded hy the governor /" 

In reference to this event. Dr. O'lMeara, under the date of September 9, 
makes the following record : 

" Races at Deadwood. The commissioners all present. None of the 
French from Longwood attended except the children and some of the do- 
mestics. 

"During the interval between the heats. Sir Hudson Lowe sent for me, 
and asked if ' some of General Bonaparte's horses were not on the race- 
ground.' I replied in the affirmative. His excellency asked how they came 
there. I replied that I had borrowed the horses from General Gourgaud, 
one of which I had lent to Miss Eliza Balcombe, and the other to the sur- 
geon of the Conqueror. Sir Hudson immediately broke out into not the 
most moderate expressions, and his gestures attracted the attention of many 
of the spectators. He characterized my having dared to lend any of Gen- 
eral Bonaparte's horses without his (the governor's) permission to be the 
greatest piece of presumption he had ever witnessed. I observed that I liad 
come to St. Helena to learn that it was a crime to borrow a horse for the use 
of a young lady, neither had I known that it was necessary to go to Planta- 
tion House to ask permission from him to borrow a horse belonging to the 
Longwood establishment. Sir Hudson rephed that ' I had no business to 
form any opinion about it.' " 

" There was so very little," says Mrs. Abell, " to vary the monotony of 
Napoleon's life, that he took an interest in the most trifling attempts at gay- 
ety in the island, and he generally consented to our entreaties to be present 
at some of the many entertainments which my fatlier delighted in promoting. 
On one occasion, my father gave a fete to celebrate the anniversary of my 
birth-day at a jn-etty little place he possessed within the boundary of the 
Emperor's rides, called ' Boss Cottage.' 

" When the festivities were at their height, we descried the Emperor riding 
along the hill's side toward the house, but on seeing such an assembly, he 
sent to say that he would content himself with looking at us from the lieights 
above. I did not consider that this was fulfilling his promise of coming to 



1817, September.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 595 

the party, and not liking to Ibe so disappointed, I scampered off to wliere he 
had taken up his position, and Ibegged he would be present at our festivity, 
teUing him he must not refuse, since it was my birth-day. But all my en- 
treaties were unavailing. He said he could not make up his mind to descend 
the hill to be exposed to the gaze of the multitude, who wished to gratify 
their curiosity with the sight of him. 

" I insisted, however, on his tasting a piece of birth-day cake, which had 
been sent for that occasion by a friend from England, and who, little know- 
ing the strict surveillance exercised over all those in any way connected with 
the fallen chief and his adherents, had the cake ornamented with a large 
eagle ; this, unluckily for us, was the subject of much animadversion. I 
named it to Napoleon as an inducement for him to eat the cake, saying, ' It 
is the least you can do for getting us into such disgrace.' Having thus in- 
duced him to eat a thick slice, he pincJied my ear, calling me a saucy sim- 
pleton, and galloped away humming, or rather attempting to sing, with his 
most unmusical voice, ' Yive Henri Quatre.'" 

Septemher 22. During the night the island was agitated by quite a severe 
shock of an earthquake. The Emperor, speaking of it in the morning, said, 

"At the moment of the first shock, I imagined that some accident had 
happened to the ship of war, the Conqueror, or tliat some powder-magazine 
on the island had exploded. At the second shock, however, I immediately 
perceived that it was an earthquake." 

When it was mentioned to Admiral Pamplin, the new admiral at St. Helena, 
that the Emperor thought at first that some magazine had exploded, he re- 
marked, "^2/, ay, the d — d rascal supposed so because he wished it.'''' 

The character of this official may be inferred from the fact that he was 
living openly and shamelessly with a woman who was not his wife. Des- 
pots and aristocrats were Napoleon's jjo^zfo'caZ enemies, and men \nilgar, 
profane, and debauched socially his foes. Napoleon would not combine 
with the despots of Europe and with the aristocrats of England to sustain, 
political corruption, and he would not receive to his companionship such 
men as Pamplin and Lowe. The Emperor's intimate friends were always 
men of true nobility of character — such men as his brother Joseph, Caulain- 
court, the noble Duroc, Desaix, and the serious and true Las Casas. He 
was compelled, in the wide reach of his empire, to avail himself of the ener- 
gies of many an individual whose character was uncongenial with his own, 
but the earnest and pensive nature of the Emperor could find fellowshi]) only 
with those whose sympathies were sincere and noble. 

September 28. The Emperor, closely confined in his damp and mouldy 
room, deprived of air, of exercise, and of cheerful converse, was slowly but 
surely descending to the grave. His cheeks became pallid and emaciate, 
his limbs began to swell. Nervous pains gave him sleepless nights and 
days of suffering. Sir Hudson Lowe thought that he could thus torture 
him into submission to his arbitrary wiU. But the noble victim was in- 
spired with a soul which no outrage or torture could vanquish. Dr. O'Meara, 
trembling for his patient, urged him to see a consulting physician. 



596 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLIV. 

Napoleon replied, " There is no necessity for it. If all the colleges of 
medicine in France and Kngland were assembled, they would give the same 
ad\ice as you have done, viz., to take exercise on horseback. I myself 
know, as well as any physician, what is necessary for me. It is exercise. 
Calling in Baxter to me would Ibe like sending a physician to a man who 
was starving with hunger, instead of giving him a loaf of bread. As long- 
as the present system is in force, I wiU never stir out. Would you have me 
render myself liable to be stopped and insulted by a sentinel, as ]\Iadam Ber- 
trand was some days ago, at ten minutes past six in the evening, and while 
it was still daylight ? If I had been in her place, it Avould have occurred, 
as the sentinel had orders to stop every body. It would have been a fine 
subject for this governor to have written upon to London, and to have stuck 
a caricature in the print-shops of Napoleon Bonaparte stopped at the gate, 
with a sentinel charging his bayonet upon him. Until matters are put on 
the footing they were in Cockburn's time, which were approved of by liis 
government, or an equivalent given, I shall never stir out. To avoid the pos- 
sibility of being insulted, I have shut myself up ; and until I know to a cer- 
tainty what restrictions there are, and by whom made, I shall not venture 
out, or expose myself to the caprice of my enemy. By prohibiting me to 
speak to such persons as I might meet, he offered to me the greatest insult 
which could be given to man. It is true that he has since taken it off; 
but if he has the power to make restrictions as he pleases, he may renew it 
to-morrow upon some pretext. To a man who has the power of doing what 
he likes, a pretext will never be wanting ; for moral restrictions imposed by 
him upon a man like me have the same effect in imprisoning me as chains 
and irons on the legs would have upon galley-slaves. To robbers and gal- 
ley-slaves, physical restrictions are imposed ; to cultivated men, moral ones. 
There is not a little lieutenant in that regiment who would go out if subject- 
ed to the restrictions imposed upon me. I asked the embassador, ' Would 
you, my lord, go out under the restriction of not speaking more to any per- 
son you met than How do you do, unless in the presence of an officer? 
Would you go out under the restriction of not being able to move to the 
right or to the left of the road ? Would you stir out under the obligation 
of coming in again at six o'clock in the evening, or otherwise run the risk 
of being stopped by sentinels at the gates ?' He replied instantly, ' No ! I 
should do as you do — I would remain in mj chamber.' There are differ- 
ent ways of assassinating a man — the pistol, the sword, poison, or morally 
assassinating, as Castlereagh and Bathurst are doing to me. It is the same 
in the end, excepting that the latter is the most cruel. When the admiral, 
who was a man of blunt character, was here, you recoUect what a different 
kind of life I led. I rode out four or five times a week, saw company, and 
even invited English officers, ladies, and others, to dine. In the admiral I 
had confidence. His word I believed, and not the slightest suspicion of 
sinister design ever entered my head. Though I disagreed with him, and 
thought he was a rough man, still I felt confidence in his character and in 
his integrity. Had I any intention of committing suicide, as this geblier in- 



1817, October. J RESIDENCE AT LONG WOOD. 597 

sinuates, I should have done it in the beginning, when, from not having heen 
accustomed to it, I must have felt it most oppressive. Besides, if I intend- 
ed it, a pistol would be mj resource. I do not love a long war. What in- 
convenience ever occurred during Cockburn's time by my riding out ? The 
intentions of the governor are to impose restrictions of such a nature, that I, 
without degrading mj character, and rendering myself an object of contempt 
in the eyes of the world, must imprison myself; thereby, in the course of 
time, to bring on disease, which, in a frame impaired by confinement and the 
blood being decomposed, must prove mortal, and that I may thus expire in 
protracted agonies, which may have the appearance of a natural death. This 
is the plan, and is a manner of assassinating just as certain, but more cruel 
and criminal, than the sword or the pistol." 

Septemher 29. ISTapoleon was speaking of the attention devoted to the 
comfort of the soldiers in the French army, and particularly of the care be- 
stowed upon the wounded. O'Meara remarked that in an English ship of 
war, at sea, during the winter, the seamen are better off than the officers, be- 
cause the seamen can warm and dry themselves by the galley fire. 
j,' ** And why can not the officers ?" inquired the Emperor. 
^ "Because," O'Meara replied, "it would not be exactly decorous for the 
officers to mix in that familiar way with the men." 

"Ah I" exclaimed the Emperor, "that aristocratic pride, that rabid aris- 
tocracy ! Why, in my campaigns, I used to go to the lines in the bivouacs, 
sit down with the meanest soldier, converse, laugh, and joke with him. I 
always prided myself on being the man of the people. You are the most 
aristocratic nation in the world. Had I been one of those petty princes in 
Germany, your oligarchy would never have sent me here ; but because I am 
the man of the people — because I may say that I raised myself from the 
populace to the greatest height of power, without the aid of aristocracy or 
hereditary rights — because a long line of nobles or of petty princes did not 
distinguish my name — because, in fact, I was not one of them, they determ- 
ined to oppress and humiliate me when in their power. The English people 
will understand that I am oppressed because I rose from the people, and in 
order to prevent any of them fr'om presuming to elevate themselves to a level 
with the aristocracy." 



CHAPTER XLY. 
1817, October, November, and December. 

Alarming Symptoms — The Restrictions relaxed — The Duke of Reichstadt deprived of his Inher- 
itance — Napoleon's Command of himself — Libels — Continued Crimes of tJie Governor — The 
new House. 

October 1. Serious symptoms of the liver complaint made their appear- 
ance. O'Meara urged that something must immediately be done, or the dis- 
ease would terminate fatally. The Emperor replied, 

" That would be truly a great consolation ; but ray death will be an eter- 



598 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [Chap. XLV. 

nal disgrace to the Englisli nation, which has sent me to this climate to die 
under the hands of an executioner." 

0']Meara remarked that he ought not to hasten his death \>j refusing to 
take proper remedies. 

The Emperor solemnly replied, looking up, " That which is written is 
wi'itten. Oar days are numbered." 

October 3. The Emperor's increasing illness began to alarm the governor. 
He consequently wrote to Count Bertrand "that he would throw open to 
him (the Emperor) the whole of the space between Longwood and the new 
road, thus enabling him to traverse it on foot and on horseback in any direc- 
tion he may choose. The same latitude, however, I do not feel myself war- 
ranted in extending to the officers and other persons of his family, except at 
the time they may be in immediate personal attendance upon liim." O'Mea- 
ra urged the Emperor to profit by this concession. 

"It would only expose me," said he, "to more insults; for the sentinels 
do not know me, and every old soldier who wished to fulhll his duty so as 
to clear himself of all responsibility would say, '■JIalte la ! Is General Bona- 
parte among you? Are you he? Oh, then, if you are h^ you may pass.' 
Thus should I be exposed to daily insults, and be obliged to give an account 
ofmyself to every sentinel who thought it right to fulfill his duty properly. 
Besides, he has no right to impose more restrictions upon these gentlemen 
than upon me. By the paper which they have signed, they only agree to 
subject themselves to such restrictions as are or may be imposed upon me. 
Moreover, I do not recognize his right to impose any other restrictions thai^ 
those made by Admiral Cockburn, which were approved, of by his govern- 
ment, imless he shows that they are signed by the Prince Regent or by the 
ministers." 

October 7. O'jMeara found the Emperor very feeble, and informed him 
that the governor had intimated that Napoleon wished to kill himself. 

"Had I intended this," Napoleon replied, "I would have fallen on my 
sword long ago, and died like a soldier. But to purposely kill myself by the 
slow agonies of a lingering disease, I am not fool enough to attempt. I 
never loved tedious warfare. But there is no death, however slow and pain- 
ful, that I would not prefer to dishonoring my character. A man who was 
once capable of imposing the restrictions of the 9tli of October and the 14th 
of March, is capable of laying them on again, or even worse, according to his 
caprice or his fears, real or imaginary. If I were to go out and be once in- 
sulted by a sentinel, it would have tlie effect of doing more injury to my 
health than six months' confinement. But this man is insensible to any 
moral feeling. He thinks that he has got some Corsican deserters or coi'po- 
rals to deal with. He is a melange of imbecility and stupidity. Before I 
had gone out a week, he would make some insinuations, as he pei*petually 
does, to the commissioners, and say that I had abused the permission he had 
given." 

November 2. Weary days of sickness and pain lingered slowly along, 
while the Emperor, in his close imprisonment, longed for the release of death. 



1817, December.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 599 

Dr. O'Meara found him to-daj reclining upon tlie sofa, with some newspapers 
lying "before him. He was melancholj and languid. The governor, who was 
very careful to keep from the Emperor all good news, had sent him a paper 
containing the account that the Emperor's son had been disinherited from the 
succession to the Duchy of Parma. 

"Now this intelligence," said Napoleon, "coming from another person, 
Avould be nothing ; but as the governor invariably culls out all the news 
that might prove agreeable, which he retains at Plantation House, and sends 
whatever may wound my feelings, it is easy to see the motives by which he 
is actuated. 

" You see," added he, with an emphasis, " that he lost no time in sending 
that news to me. I was always prepared to expect something of the kind 
from the wretches who compose the Congress. They are afraid of a prince 
who is the choice of the people. However, you may yet see a great change, 
that is, provided they continue to give him a good education, or that they do 
not assassinate him. If they brutify him by a bad education, there is little 
hope. As for me, I may be considered as dead — as already in the sepulchre. 
I am certain that before long this body will be no more. I feel that the ma- 
chine struggles, but can not last. " 

"I," added he, " could listen to the intelligence of the death of my wife, 
of niy son, or of all my family, without change of feature. Not the slightest 
sign of emotion or alteration of countenance would be visible. Every thing 
would appear indifferent and calm. But when alone in my chamber, then I 
suffer ; then the feelings of the man burst forth. 

" As to my son's being disinherited from the succession to Parma, it gives 
me little or no uneasiness. If he lives, he will be something. As to those 
contemptible little states, I would rather see him a private gentleman, with 
enough to eat, than sovereign of any of them. Perhaps, however, it may 
grieve the Empress to think that he will not inherit after her. But it does 
not, give me the smallest trouble." 

December 9. As the dreary weeks passed along, the Emperor was left un- 
molested in his dying chamber. Sir Hudson Lowe, however, was daily man- 
ifesting increased acrimony toward Dr. O'Meara, and was evidently determ- 
ined to drive him fromi the island. The doctor resolutely refused to act the 
part of the governor's spy, and Sir Hudson Lowe was determined to replace 
him by a more pliant agent. In conversation to-day, something was said 
of the libels which had been published against the Emperor. Napoleon ob- 
served, 

" Of all the libels against me with which your ministers have inundated 
Europe, not one will pass to posterity. When I was asked to write, or cause 
to be written, answers to them, I replied. Another victory, another monument 
is the true response. Besides, it would have been said that I paid for the 
writing of them, which would have been discreditable. Posterity will judge 
by facts. Calumny has exhausted all her poison on my person. I shall 
gain every day. When the first phrensy has passed away, I shall have for 
vaj enemies only the ignorant and the wicked. When there is not a trace 



600 ' NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XL VI. 

of these libels to be found, the great works and monuments that I executed, 
and the code of laws tliat I formed, will go down to the most distant ages ; 
and future historians will revenge the wrongs done to me by my contempo- 
raries." 

December 18. Under this date Dr. O'Meara makes the foUowino- record : 

o 

, " Summoned to attend at Plantation House. As the reader must be al- 
ready disgusted with the details of the manner in which the governor took 
advantage of his situation to insult and oppress an officer inferior in rank, 
because the latter refused to be his spy, I shall not fatigue him with any 
further account of the conduct practiced toward me on this day, than that my 
replies and refusals to disclose Napoleon's conversations caused me to be 
treated in a more outrageous manner than on the 18th of last month. The 
governor followed me out of the room, vociferating after me in a frantic man- 
ner, and carried his gestures so far as to menace me with personal violence. 
"After this, orders were again given me to attend interrogations at Plant- 
ation House twice a week." 

Thus, with Napoleon, darkly closed the year of 1817. His persecutors 
were becoming more and more implacable, and the chiU glooms of the prison 
were settling in heavier folds over his dying bed. In dejection and pain, he 
passed most of the hours of his weary days and of his sleepless nights alone. 
The silence was only disturbed by the gambols of the rats, which had free 
range through his dilapidated hovel. The governor refused to erect the new 
house upon any of those spots which the Emperor had pointed out, but in- 
sisted upon placing it ujDon the bleak heights of Longwood. He ordered the 
foundations to be dug in the very garden of that shadeless, cheerless, storm- 
swept, unhealthy locality. This was an additional insult to the Emperor. 
To all these outrages he could only oppose silence and seclusion. It was 
three years before the new house was completed. But Napoleon was then 
gasping in death. His feet never crossed the threshold. 



CHAPTER XLVI. 

1818. 



Sad Condition of the Emperor — Remarks on the French Revolution — O'Meara insulted by the Gov- 
ernor — Contrast between Lowe and Cockburn — New Instructions from Lord Bathurst — Portraits 
of Napoleon's Son — Dr. O'Meara again insulted by the Governor — Plans in the Invasion of En- 
gland — Death of Cipriani — Gourgaud's Return to Europe — Departure of the Balcombes — 
O'Meara Imprisoned — O'Meara sent from the Island — Extension of Liberty — Dr. Stockoe. 

January. "The year 1818," says Count Montholon, "began its course 
under sad auspices. Time, instead of alleviating the sufferings of our cap- 
tivity, aggravated them every day, and the dechne of the Emperor's health 
gave us serious uneasiness." 

The Emperor remained secluded in his room, spending many hours every- 
day in dictating the memoirs of his campaigns, and finding a melancholy 
pleasure in conversing with his friends. But little of his conversation during 



1818, January.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. (301 

tlie month of Januaiy is recorded. On one occasion, speaking of tlie French 
Kevokition, he said, 

" The French Revolution was a general movement of the mass of the na- 
tion against the privileged classes. The nobles retained the higher and the 
inferior justice, and other feudal rights, under various forms ; enjoyed the 
privilege of being exempt from the burdens of the community, and exclu- 
sively possessed all honorable employments. The chief object of the Revo- 
lution was to destroy those privileges and abuses, to abolish the manorial 
courts, suppress the remains of the ancient slavery of the people, and subject 
all citizens equally to bear the expenses of the state. It established equali- 
ty of rights. Any citizen might succeed to any employment according to his 
talents. Before it, France was composed of provinces differently divided, and 
unequal in extent and population. They had a great number of legal cus- 
toms and peculiar laws for the administration of civil as well as criminal jus- 
tice. She was an assemblage of several states without amalgamation. The 
Revolution destroyed all those little nations, and formed a new one. There 
was one France with a homogeneous division of territory, the same civil 
and criminal laws, and the same regulation for taxes. There no longer re- 
mained any trace of the ancient privileges of the provinces, their ancient 
sovereigns, or ancient Parliaments. One half of the territory had changed 
proprietors. France presented the spectacle of thirty millions of inhabitants 
circumscribed in natural limits, composed of one class of citizens, and gov- 
erned by one law, one regulation, one order. Subsequently the French na- 
tion established the imperial throne, and placed me upon it. No person 
ever ascended a throne with more legitimate rights. The throne of France 
was granted before to Hugues Capet by a few bishops and nobles. The im- 
perial throne was given to me by the desire of the people, whose wishes were 
three times verified in a solemn manner." 

Napoleon refused to have any intercourse whatever with Sir Hudson Lowe, 
and seldom mentioned his name or alluded to him in any way ; but this 
brutal jailer daily became more malignant and tyrannical in his treatment of 
those v/ho were the friends of the illustrious captive. Dr. O'Meara was ex- 
posed to every conceivable insult. JSTothing but his intense and increasing 
aifection for the Emperor induced him to retain a position which exposed 
him, a British officer, to such indignities. On the 2d of January the gov- 
ernor said, in an angry interview with the doctor, 

" This is my office, sir, and there is the door leading to it. When I send 
for you on duty, you will come in at that door ; but do not put your foot in 
any other part of my house, or come in at any other entrance." 

"L'calmly replied," says O'Meara, "that it was not for my own pleasure 
or by my own desire that I ever set foot in any part of his house, and, after 
suffering this paltry abuse of authority, departed." 

On the occasion of the reception of some fresh insults, the Emperor said 
of Su' Hudson Lowe, 

" I never look on him without being reminded of the assassin of Edward 
II. in the castle of Berkeley, heating the bar of iron which was to be the in- 



602 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLYI. 

strument of his crime. Mj nature revolts against liim. In my eyes, she 
seems to have marked him, like Cain, with the seal of reprobation. This 
can not he a prejudice against the English nation, since Admiral Cockhurn 
never inspired me with similar distaste. True, I had some complaints against 
him, but I always did justice to his honorable sentiments. I never felt the 
slightest distrust toward him ; and I would vv'illingly have bestowed my con- 
fidence on any medical man presented by him." 

0']Meara, feeling heavily the immense responsibility which was resting 
upon him, entreated the Emperor to receive, as a consulting physician, Dr. 
Baxter, who was in Sir Hudson Lowe's employ. He represented the doctor 
as a man of irreproachable character and of distinguished talent. 

"I believe," said the Emperor, "all the good that you tell me, and that 
I hear said of Mr. Baxter, but Mr. Lowe soils every thing that passes through 
his hands, and he wishes to make me consult Mr. Baxter, in order that he 
may then remove you, whom I have myself chosen, and be enabled to have 
such bulletins of my health Avritten as it may suit him to forward to his gov- 
ernment." 

Sir Hudson Lowe received instructions from Lord Bathurst forbidding 
him any longer to communicate with General Bonaparte through Count 
Berti'and, for two reasons : first, because he was treating General Bonaparte 
with the respect due to sovereign princes, and, secondly, because Count Ber- 
trand adopted an overbearing tone of authority. Heretofore, though the En- 
glish officials refused to recognize the title of Emjieror, the French were not 
prohibited from using that title ; but now the command was given that no 
communication should be received fi'om them in which that title was given 
to Napoleon. 

February 16. Mr. Barber had arrived at St. Helena in the Cainhridge, and 
opened a shop at Jamestown. He brought from Europe two portraits of Na- 
poleon's son, thinking that it would be a gratification to the Emperor and his 
friends to receive them. Sir Hudson Lowe seized the portraits, and the be- 
reaved father was never permitted to behold these lineaments of his idolized 
child. 

February 18. Sir Hudson Lowe, in the exercise of petty tyranny for 
wdiich we can scarcely find a parallel in the darkest page of history, strictly 
prohibited Dr. O'Meara from speaking to his patient upon any subject what- 
ever except his nnedical condition ! Dr. O'Meara records, under this day's 
date, the following interview with the governor : 

" Sir Hudson Lowe then got up, and, looking at me in a menacing man- 
ner, said, 

" ' Upon your word of honor, sir, I ask you if you have had any other 
conversations with Napoleon Bonaparte than upon medical subjects for a 
month past.' 

" I replied, ' Perhaps there may have been on other subjects not inter- 
esting.' 

'"I do not allow you^ sir,' he continued, ' to be a judge of whether they 
were uninteresting or otherwise. You have no authority for holding any 



1818, Fetruarj.] HESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 603 

communications with. Napoleon Bonaparte unless upon medical subjects, and 
then only when sent to for that purpose. Have you had any communication 
with any other person of his family V 

" 'Certainly, sir, I have had.' Without waiting to know whether those 
communications were medical or otherwise, he burst out with, ' You have 
no authority, sir, to hold any communication whatsoever with any of his fam- 
ily, who are subject to the same restrictions as himself, unless upon medical 
subjects, and then only when sent for, and when finished you are to leave 
them. You have no business to go among them unless for medical pur- 
poses. Have you, sir, had any communication with any of them unless 
upon those subjects ?' 

" I replied by referring his excellency to his own orders that I should not 
hold any other communication than m.edical with them. 

" 'This reply, sir,' said he, 'as usual, is not a direct one. You make it 
a practice to go to town when ships arrive, which I do not approve of. You 
go to collect news for General Bonaparte.' 

" I answered ' that I was an English officer, and, as such, would not give 
up my rights ; moreover, that I, as well as others, was desirous of purchas- 
ing the necessaries of life as soon as they were landed, and before any mo- 
nopoly took place to increase the price. That, if he intended to prohibit me 
from going to town, I had to request orders to that effect in writing.' This 
Sir Hudson refused, saying, with a sneer, 

" ' The request is worthy of the place you came from, and the people with 
whom you associate. I do not think a person, under a pledge to Napoleon 
Bonaparte, ought to be received into company, and I do not approve of your 
going to town when ships arrive. You are suspected by me, sir.' 

" I replied ' that I was under no other pledge to Napoleon than one which 
was tacitly understood in every society of gentlemen.' 

" The governor said ' that it was presumption and insolence for me to dare 
to judge of the line of conduct his majesty's government had thought proper 
to pursue with respect to Napoleon Bonaparte.' 

" I replied ' that I did not attempt to judge of that ; that I merely men- 
tioned what was the custom of society.' 

" 'You are a suspected man, sir— you are suspected by o^ie.'' 

" ' I can not help that, sir. It is a consolation to me, however, under 
such circumstances, to have the mens conscia rectV This the governor said 
was a fresh insult, which he followed up by a volley of abuse." 

February 19. The Emperor, speaking of his plans if he had succeeded in 
the invasion of England, said, 

" I would have offered you a Constitution of your own choice, and have 
said, ' Assemble in London deputies from the people to fix upon a Constitu- 
tion.' I would have called upon Burdett and other popular leaders to or- 
ganize one according to the wishes of the people. I would have declared 
the Prince Regent fallen from the throne, abolished the nobility, proclaimed 
liberty, freedom, and equality. Think you that, in order to keep the house 
of Hanover on the throne, your rich citizens, merchants, and others of Lon- 



604 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XL VI. 

don would have consented to sacrifice their riches, their houses, their fam- 
ilies, and all their dearest interests, especially when I had made them com- 
prehend that I only came to sweep oppression away, and to give tliem lib- 
erty ? No, it is contrary to history and to human nature. You are too rich. 
Your principal people have too much to lose by resistance, and your popu- 
lace too much to gain by a change. If, indeed, they supposed that I wanted 
to render England a province of France, then indeed the national spirit would 
do wonders. 

"But I would have formed a republic according to your own wishes, re- 
quired a moderate contribution barely sufficient to have paid the troops, and 
perhaps not even that. Your populace would have been for me, knowing 
that I am the man of the people, that I spring from the populace myself, and 
that, whenever a man had merit or talent, I elevated him without asking how 
many degrees of nobility he had — knowing that by joining with me they 
would be relieved from the yoke of the aristocracy under which they labor. 
There is not a people in the world, not even the Prussian, worse treated. 
Excepting the obligation of serving as soldiers, the German populace are bet- 
ter off than yours. 

" You have no more regard for yours than if they were so many Helots, 
and you treat them precisely as if they were such. To my lords and my 
ladies, to the aristocracy and the gentlemen^ oh, indeed, you pay every kind 
of attention and regard ; nothing can be too good for them ; no treatment kind 
enough ; but for your populace, bah ! they are so many dogs : as your con- 
tractors said, when furnishing provisions to the French prisoners, ' It is too 
good for those French dogs.' You yourself, doctor, have a great deal of aris- 
tocratic pride in your head, and appear to look down upon your coinmon peo- 
2)le as if they were a race of inferior beings. You talk of your freedom. 
Can any thing be more horrible than your pressing of seamen ? You send 
your boats on shore to seize upon every male that can be found, who, if they 
have the misfortune to belong to the populace — if they can not prove them- 
selves gentletnen, are hurried on board of your ships, to serve as seamen in 
all quarters of the globe. 

"And yet you have the impudence to talk of the conscription in France : 
it wounds your pride, because it fell ^lJ)0?l all ranks. Oh, how shocking, 
that a gentlemavb s son should be obliged to defend his country, just as if he 
were one of the common peojjle ! and that he should be compelled to ex- 
pose his body, or put himself on a level with a vile plebeian ! Yet God made 
aU men alike. Who form the nation? Not your lords, nor your fat pre- 
lates and churchmen, nor your gentlemen, nor your oligarchy. Oh ! one day 
the people wiU revenge themselves, and terrible scenes will take place. 

"That conscription," continued Napoleon, "which offended your aristo- 
cratic pride so much, was conducted scrupulously according to the principles 
of equal rights. Every native of a country is bound to defend it. The con- 
scription did not crush a particular class like your press-gang, nor the popu- 
lace because they were poor. It was the most just, because the most equal 
mode of raising troops. It rendered the French army the best composed in 



1818, February.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 605 

the world. The conscription would have iDecome a national institution, in- 
stead of being regarded as a punishment or a servitude. 

" Were you a nation," continued he, " of half savages, of poor wild mount- 
aineers, or of ferocious shepherds like the Scythians, then, indeed, you might 
destroy your capital, and desolate your country, in order to stop the progress 
of an invader. Even if you were as poor, as wild, and as ignorant as the 
Spaniards, perhaps you might destroy some of your towns and habitations ; 
but you are too rich and too selfish. Where is there one of you would say, 
' I will destroy my house, abandon my property to be pillaged, my wife and 
daughters to be violated, my sons to be massacred ! And for what ? To 
keep the Prince Regent on the throne, and Lord Bathurst and the Archbish- 
op of Canterbury in their employments of twenty thousand pounds a year. 
All this I will do against a man who offers terms, who proposes to give us a 
Constitution according to the wish of the nation.' No, no. It is more than 
could be expected from man. Pitt himself was well aware of it, and one of 
the means which he took to form the coalition against me was by asserting 
that a descent was possible ; that if it were effected England would be con- 
quered before twelve months ; that then all the Continent would be at my 
mercy and my disposal ; that, England once fallen, all was lost. This the 
King of Prussia told me afterward." 

In further remarks upon the imperial government, the Emperor said, 

" The system of government must be adapted to the spirit of the nation 
and to circumstances. In the first place, France required a strong govern- 
ment. While I was at the head of it, I may say that France was in the 
same state as Rome when a dictator was declared necessary for the salva- 
tion of the republic. Successions of coalitions against her existence were 
formed by your gold among all the powerful nations of Europe. To resist 
successfully, it was necessary that all the energies of the country should be 
at the disposal of the chief. I never conquered unless in my own defense. 
Europe never ceased to make war upon France and her principles. It was 
necessary for us to conquer under the pain of being conquered. Between 
the parties that agitated France for a long time, I was like a rider seated on 
an unruly horse, who always wanted to swerve either to the right or to the 
left ; and, to make him. keep a straight course, I was obliged to let him feel 
the bridle occasionally. The government of a country just emerged from a 
revolution, menaced by foreign enemies, and agitated by the intrigues of do- 
mestic traitors, must necessarily be rigorous. In quieter times my dictature 
would have finished, and I should have commenced my constitutional reign. 
Even as it was, with a coahtion always existing against me, either secret or 
public, openly avowed or denied, there was more equality in France tlian in 
any other country in Europe. 

" One of my grand objects was to render education accessible to every 
body. I caused every institution to be formed upon a plan which offered 
instruction to the public either gratis, or at a rate so moderate as not to be 
beyond the means of the peasant. The museums were thrown open to the 
people. My people would have become the best educated in the world. All 



606 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLVI. 

my exertions were directed to illuminate the mass of tlie nation, instead of 
"bnitifying tliem by ignorance and superstition. 

"Tliose English," added he, "who are lovers of liberty, will one day la- 
ment with tears having gained the battle of Waterloo. It was as fatal to 
the liberties of Europe in its eifects as that of Philippi was to those of Rome ; 
and, like it, has precipitated Europe into the hands of triumvirs, associated 
together for the oppression of mankind, the suppression of knowledge, and 
the restoration of superstition." 

Fehrxiary 'iAi. This day Cipriani, one of the Emperor's most devoted at- 
tendants, died, after a short but very violent illness. Napoleon wished to 
visit his sick-bed, but the doctor dissuaded him, as he feared the excitement 
might destroy all hopes of recovery. Cipriani was a man of remarkable nat- 
ural strength of mind and great force of character. He was a strong Repub- 
lican, and had yielded to the necessaiy establishment of the Hejmhlicayi 
Empire. His attachment to the Emperor was so enthusiastic that he left 
his own family in Rome that he might follow Naj)oleon to his gloomy pris- 
on. When the Emperor was informed of his death, he said, sadly, 

"Where is his soul? Gone to Rome, perhaps, to see his wife and cliild 
before it undertakes the long, final journey." 

As Cipriani was not buried within the limits allotted to the Emperor, Na- 
poleon did not attend the funeral, as he would otherwise have done. He, 
however, as an expression of gratitude to the attention showed his remains, 
sent $125 to the clergyman who performed the burial service for distribution 
among the poor. 

March. The month of March came and went enveloped in gloom. Fu- 
nereal shades settled down, each day more dark and sombre, over the inmates 
of Longwood. General Gourgaud's health became so deplorable, and his 
spirits so utterly depressed, that it became necessary for him to return to Eu- 
rope. He also hoped to make such representations there as to ameliorate the 
condition of the dying Emperor. General Gourgaud had the honor of a per- 
sonal acquaintance with the Emperors of Russia and Austria, and had also 
been admitted to the intimacy of Maria Louisa. Hopes were therefore en- 
tertained that he might be enabled to make the truth known. 

In no period of the Emperor's life does his imperial character shine more 
brilliantly than during the awful tragedy of St. Helena. His friends exerted 
their utmost energies to baffle the malignity of his foes. Napoleon opposed 
to all tlie hostile machinations of his enemies the sublimity of patience and 
seclusion, and the resistance of his renown. 

Sir Hudson Lowe, in his pitiable defense, has endeavored to represent 
General Goui-gaud as leaving St. Helena because he had become alienated 
from the Emperor, and wished to leave him. The following extracts from a 
letter addressed to Maria Louisa, but intended for the eye of all Europe, im- 
mediately upon hi.'? arrival in London, is a sufficient reply to all such calum- 
nies : 

" Madam, — You will pardon the sad duty which I now fulfill by inform- 
ing you that the Emperor Napoleon is dying amid the torments of the most 



1818, March.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 607 

frightfiil and prolonged agonj. Yes, madam, lie whom divine and human 
laws unite to you Tby the most sacred ties ; he whom you have beheld an 
object of homage to almost all the sovereigns of Europe, and over whose fate 
I saw you shed so many tears when he left you, is perishing hy a most cruel 
death, a captive on a rock in the midst of the vast ocean, at a distance of two 
thousand leagues from those he holds most dear, alone, without friends, with- 
out relations, without tidings of his wife or of his son, without consolation. 

" Since I quitted the fatal rock, I had nourished a hope of being able to 
go to you, and of reciting his sufferings to you, in full reliance on the exer- 
tions Tfhich your generous soul was capable of undertaking ; but in this I 
was deceived. I learned that no one who would recall the Emperor to your 
mind, describe his situation to you, and tell you the truth, was permitted to 
approach you ; in a word, that you were in tlie midst of your court as in a 
prison. The Emperor himself thought this must be so. In his moments 
of anguish, when, in order to offer him some consolation, we spoke to him of 
you, he frequently replied, ' Be assured that if the Empress makes no effort 
to alleviate my situation, it is because she is surrounded by spies, who pre- 
vent her from learning what they make me suffer here.' " 

Two only of Napoleon's companions now remained to cheer his captivity, 
Montholon and Bertrand. 

The Balcombe family also departed from St. Helena in the same ship with 
General Gourgaud. The friendly relations existing between this excellent 
English family and the Emperor rendered them obnoxious to the governor. 
Mr. Balcombe consequently found it necessary to resign his situation. In 
the governor's official documents, it is said, 

"Although Sir Hudson Lowe had no tangible cause of complaint against 
him (Mr. Balcombe), he was not without strong suspicion that his relations 
with Longwood were not limited to the ostensible duties of his office. His 
close intimacy with O'Meara, with whose conduct the governor was becom- 
ing daily more dissatisfied, of itself justified some jealousy of his actions." 

The Emperor was not willing that his friends should suffer for their kind- 
ness to him. With his accustomed munificence, he presented Mr. Balcombe 
with bills upon London to the amount of fourteen thousand dollars, and also 
settled upon him an annual pension of twenty-four hundred dollars. In the 
letter which accompanied this gift, so characteristic of his noble heart, he 
wrote, 

" I fear that your resignation of your employment in this island is caused 
by the quarrels and annoyances drawn upon you by the relations established 
between your family and Longwood, in consequence of the hospitahty which 
you showed me on my first arrival in St. Helena. I would not wish you 
ever to regret having known me." 

Mrs. Abell, who was then but a child, thus touchingly alludes to the part- 
ing interview : 

"A day or two before we embarked, my father, my sister, and myself 
rode to Longwood, to bid adieu to the Emperor. He was in his room, sur- 
rounded by books, which had arrived a few days before. He seemed much 



608 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLVI. 

depressed at our leaving the island, and said lie sincerely regretted tlie cause. 
He hoped my deaf mother's health would soon he restored, and sent many 
aiFectionate messages to her, she being too ill to accompany us to Longwood. 
When we had sat with him some time, he walked with us in his garden, and 
with a sickly smile pointed to the ocean spread out before us, hounding the 
view, and said, 

" ' Soon you will he sailing away toward England, leaving me to die on 
this miserable rock. Look at those dreadfid mountains ; they are my prison 
walls. You will soon hear that the Emperor Napoleon is dead.' 

" I burst into tears, and sobbed as though my heart would break. He 
seemed much moved at the sorrow manifested by us. I had left my hand- 
kerchief in the pocket of my side-saddle, and seeing the tears run. fast down 
my cheeks. Napoleon took his own from his pocket and wiped them away, 
telling me to keep the handkerchief in remembrance of that sad day. 

" We afterward returned and dined with him. My heart was too full of 
grief to swallow ; and when pressed by Napoleon to eat some of my favorite 
bon-bons and creams, I told him my throat had a great swelling in it, and 
I could take nothing. 

" The hour of bidding adieu came at last. He affectionately embraced my 
sister and myself, and bade us not forget him ; adding that he should ever 
remember our friendship and Idndness to him, and tlianked us again and 
again for all the happy hours he had passed in our society. He asked me 
what I should like to have in remembrance of him. I replied I should value 
a lock of his hair more than any other gift he could present. He then sent 
for Monsieur Marchand, and desired him to bring in a pair of scissors and 
cut off four locks of hair for my father and mother, my sister and myself, 
which he did. I still possess that lock of hair ; it is all left me of the many 
tokens of remembrance of the great Emperor." 

April 10. Sir Hudson Lowe sent a communication to Dr. O'Meara for- 
bidding him to pass from the limits of Longwood. No reasons were assigned 
for this extraordinary measure by which a British officer was arbitrarily im- 
prisoned. He was prohibited from holding any intercourse with the French 
save upon subjects connected with his profession. By his imprisonment 
within the limits of Longwood he was cut off fi-om all intercourse with the 
English. Dr. O'Meara, thus insulted, immediately tendered to the governor 
his resignation as physician to Napoleon, and also wrote a letter to Count 
Bertrand, informing him of the circumstances which had compelled him to 
take this step. The Emperor, hearing of this, sent for the doctor to take 
leave of him. Taking his kind physician by the hand, he said, with much 
emotion, 

" Well, doctor, you are going to quit us. Will the world conceive that 
they have been base enough to make attempts upon my physician ? Since 
you are no more than a simple lieutenant, subjected to arbitrary power and 
to military discij^line, you have no longer the independence necessary to ren- 
der your services useful to me. I thank you for your care. Quit as soon 
as you can this abode of darkness and of crimes. I sliall expire upon that 



1818, July.] • RESIDENCE AT LONG WOOD. 609 

pallet, consumed hj disease, and without any assistance ; but your country 
will be eternally dishonored by my death." 

Dr. O'Meara was kept in confinement at Longwood twenty-seven days, 
without trial or accusation. During this time the dying Emperor received 
no medical advice, as he resolutely refused to accept another physician ap- 
pointed by his brutal jailer. 

In the mean time. Sir Hudson IjOwc was detected in fabricating false bul- 
letins respecting Napoleon's health, which were signed by a physician who 
did not see the Emperor. The detection of this duplicity, which was proved 
beyond all denial, created quite a sensation at St. Helena, and excited the 
indignation of the commissioners of the allied powers. Baron Sturmer said 
to Sir Hudson Lowe, " To provoke the resignation of the physician at Long- 
wood by the rigors of military discipline, and, at the same time, to cause 
false bulletins to be drawn up by a medical man who did not see the Em- 
peror, is to authorize a crime beforehand in case of the Emperor's death. I 
consider myself bound to protest against such measures." 

In Sir Hudson Lowe's defense we read, "Baron Sturmer, the Austrian 
commissioner, was removed from St. Helena at the end of June, in conse- 
quence of his persisting in unauthorized communications with the French at 
Longwood." 

After keeping Dr. O'Meara twenty-seven days in confinement, the Emper- 
or during all this time receiving no medical advice whatever, for he would 
not receive to his sick-chamber a physician who came but as the creature 
and the spy of Sir Hudson Lowe, the governor, becoming alarmed by public 
sentiment at St. Helena, and by the indignant remonstrances of the commis- 
sioners, removed the restrictions from the insulted physician. O'Meara eag- 
erly returned again to his suffering patient. 

Mccy 16. The governor, growing more and more irritable and malignant, 
issued a proclamation, which was placarded in all the most conspicuous 
places, interdicting all officers, inhabitants, and other persons from holding 
any correspondence or communication with the foreign persons under deten- 
tion on the island. 

The months of June and July passed sadly away, while the Emperor re- 
mained in his room with his books and his pen, his health rapidly failing, 
his limbs swelling, and a lingering and painful death dragging slowly on. 
He appeared cheerful with his friends, and seldom was any complaint heard 
to escape his lips. Those who loved him endeavored to shield him from the 
assaults of t]ie governor ; and the days at St. Helena were filled up with 
constant conflicts between Sir Hudson Lowe and all who had any sympathy 
with Napoleon. Wisely the friends of the Emperor refrained from annoying 
him with the recital of their incessant conflicts with their brutal jailer. 

Jtdy 25, As Dr. O'Meara was returning to his room from the sick-bed of 
the Emperor, he received an order from Sir Hudson LoAve commanding him 
immediately to leave Longwood, and to hold no further communication what- 
ever with General Bonaparte. " Humanity," says Dr. O'Meara, " the du- 
ties of my profession, and the actual state of Napoleon's health, alike forbade 

Q Q 



610 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. XLVI. 



a compliance with this unfeeling command. I determined to disobey it, what- 
ever might be the consequences." 

O'Meara immediately returned to the Emperor and informed him of the 
order he had received. The Emperor replied solemnly, 

" The crime will soon be consummated. I have hved too long for them. 
Your ministers are very bold. When the Pope was in France, sooner would 
I have cut off my right arm than have signed an order for the removal of his 
surgeon. When you arrive in Europe, you will either go yourself or send to 
my brother Joseph. You will inform him that I desire he shall give you 
the parcel containing the private and confidential letters of the Emperors Al- 
exander and Francis, the King of Prussia, and the other sovereigns of Eu- 
rope with me, which I delivered to his care at Rochefort. You will publish 
them, to cover with shame those sovereigns, and manifest to the world the ab- 
ject homage which those vassals paid to me when asking favors or su^^pli- 
cating for their thrones. When I was strong and in power, they implored my 
protection and the honor of my alliance, and licked the dust from under my 
feet. Now, in my old age, they basely oppress, and take from me my wife 
and child. I require you to do this ; and if you see any calumnies published 
of me during the time that you have been with me, and if you can say, ' I 
have seen with my own eyes that this is not true,' contradict them." 

He then presented O'Meara with a superb snuff-box and a statue of him- 
self, and said, 

" On your arrival in Europe, make inquiries about my family, and com- 
municate to the members of it that I do not wish that any of them should 




ADIEU TO O'MEARA. 



1818, December.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 611 

come to St. Helena, to witness the miseries and humiliation under which I 
labor. You wiU express the sentiments which I preserve for them. You 
wiU bear my affections to my good Louisa, to my excellent mother, and to 
Pauline. If you see my son, embrace him for me. May he never forget that 
he was born a French prince. Testify to Lady Holland the sense I enter- 
tain of her kindness, and the esteem which I bear to her." He then threw 
his arms around Dr. O'Meara's neck, warmly embraced him, and said, "Adieu, 
O'Meara. We shall never meet again. May you be happy." 

As O'Meara left the Emperor's room, he was arrested by a British officer, 
taken as a prisoner to Jamestown, where he was placed on board a ship of 
war, and on the 2d of August he sailed for England. Sir Hudson Lowe, 
having thus got rid of Dr. O'Meara, immediately sent Dr. Verling to Long- 
wood ; but the Emperor, thus outraged, refused to receive a physician of 
Sir Hudson Lowe's appointing. For two months the Emperor, in conse- 
quence of the restrictions imposed upon him, had not been out of doors. He 
often passed hours of his sleepless nights alone, pacing his chamber in his 
dressing-gown. He uttered no complaints, but his friends could discern in 
his tottering frame and wasted cheek the indications of the anguish which 
consumed his heart. 

"During more than two months," says Count Montholon, "the contest 
with Sir Hudson Lowe concerning the admission of an English physician 
into the service of the Emperor was incessant. To all his offers the gTand 
marshal or I answered, ' Let us choose for ourselves, and place the person 
chosen in the same position as was at first enjoyed by Dr. O'Meara.' 

" At length, on the 28th of September, no longer able to conceal from him- 
self the rapid progress of disease caused by want of exercise, Sir Hudson 
Lowe enlarged the circle of our free walks, and left us for a time at rest. 
The Emperor's mind was less occupied by insults, which were not daily re- 
called to him. He gTadually resumed his accustomed walks in his httle gar- 
den, where it was easy for the orderly officer to get sight of him, either by 
day or by night, for the sentinels had orders to inform him as soon as they 
were certain that the Emperor had left his apartments. 

" The Emperor again resumed his habit of work, and dictated some notes 
about his return from Elba." 

For more than a year Dr. Verling remained at Longwood by the appoint- 
ment of the governor, but Napoleon refused to receive a physician who was 
assigned to him as though he were a galley-slave, and without any regard to 
his own choice. Toward the end of December the Emperor's health again 
rapidly and alarmingly failed. In a moment of pain and peril, a month later. 
General Bertrand obtained permission of the Emperor to send for Dr. Stockoe, 
surgeon on board the Conqueror. The Emperor was ready to accept him as 
his physician, and Dr. Stockoe was willing to enter upon the duties of his 
office ; but the fact that the Emperor had selected him, though he was an En- 
glishman, and a surgeon on board an Enghsh ship, was his condemnation in 
the eyes of the governor. After a few calls at Longwood, he was prohibited 
from making any more visits, was tried and condemned by a court-martial 



612 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLVII. 

for his sympathy with his dying patient, and was punished for t/ie crime 
by dismission from service. 

Such was the mehmcholy situation of the Emperor as the Last liours of 
the year 1818 were tolled. 



CHAPTER XLVII. 

1819. 

New Outrages — Departure of Madam Montliolon — Noble Protest — Arrival of Dr. Antommarchi and 
the Ecclesiastics — Conversation with Antommarchi — The Books and the Portrait — Protest of Dr. 
Antommarchi — Corsica as a Retreat — Amiability of the Emperor — The Ancestry of Napoleon. 

The months of January and February of the new year came and went, 
bringing no change. Lord Bathurst now authorized iSir Hudson Lowe to 
compel General Bonaparte to exhibit himself twice a day to a British orderly 
officer. 

" Should his system of seclusion," says this order, " render it necessary to 
adopt some compulsory mode, you will instruct the orderly officer to take 
proper measiu'cs for obtaining a view of his person." 

Napoleon still kept secluded in his room, occasionally walking for a few 
moments in his garden, while his friends endeavored by aU possible means to 
shield him from insult, and to keep the merciless governor at bay. The 
months of March, April, May, June, July, and August lingered slowly away 
in melancholy monotony. The gloom of a living burial brooded over Long- 
wood. The Emperor, still refusing to accept Sir Hudson Lowe's physician, 
was suffering severely, and was evidently fast descending to the tomb. The 
governor had so far respected the dying sufferer as to refrain from intruding 
into his chamber by breaking down the door. Sir Hudson Lowe, that he 
might have his prisoner entirely to himself, was every day threatening to send 
away Count Bertrand and Count IMontholon ; but the firm soul of the Em- 
peror, even by such torture, could not be brought to submission to this mis- 
erable tyrant. 

The health of jMadam Montliolon was so utterly prostrated by the climate 
of St. Helena, that it was necessary, in order to save her life, that she should 
leave the island and return to Europe. Count Montliolon, with devotion to 
his noble friend which must ever win the admiration of the world, still re- 
mained to cheer the captive in his hours of sickness and of sorrow. Early 
in July ]\Iadam Montliolon sailed from St. Helena. The Emperor was much 
affected in taking leave of his kind companion. Sick and alone, she was to 
take the long jom-ney to Europe. Love for the Emperor induced both hus- 
band and wife to submit to so painful a separation. As Napoleon bade her 
adieu, affi^ction and emotion flooded his heart, and he burst into tears. He 
presented her, in parting, with some of the beautiful ivory ornaments which 
had been sent to him by Captain Elphinstone. 

On the 29th of x\ugust Colonel Eeade communicated to Counts Mon- 
tholou and Bertrand that the orderly officer was commanded to see the Em- 



1819, September.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 613 

peror every day, and to force his way into his sick-chamher if this were nec- 
essary; and that "if any opposition is attempted, those persons making this 
opposition will expose themselves to all the risk and danger which may fol- 
low, as well as to all other consequences which would result from such an 
act." 

The Emperor dictated the following reply, which they were to present to 
the orderly officer if he insisted upon admission : 

"You wish to violate the privacy of the Emperor's apartments, which 
have until now been respected, and which are under the protection of the law 
of nations, and of the strict decrees of your government. None hut the 
Prince Regent or the Privy Council can make legal restrictions. They have 
been aware these four years that the Emperor's choice between an ignomini- 
ous treatment and death is by no means doubtful. Alone, ill, debarred from 
all communication with the universe, or even with the English officers or in- 
habitants on this rock, he presents his throat to the poniards of his murder- 
ers. They need seek for no pretext. 

"I reiterate that the Emperor would prefer the refuge of a tomb to igno- 
minious treatment. He has sacrificed every thing, abandoned every thing, 
and reduced himself to the most miserable life, in order to satisfy the hatred 
of his enemies. If their vengeance is not yet disarmed, let them strike him 
down at a single blow. It wiU be a benefit, since it will put a termination 
to the agony which has lasted since the 11th of August, and in which pleas- 
ure seems to be taken in holding him under the knife." 

Several days passed after this during which the Emperor remained un- 
molested, as Sir Hudson Lowe was not quite prepared to put him in chains, 
or to order a dragoon to shoot him down in his chamber. Napoleon was 
called a prisoner of vmr ; but never before, in the history of civilized na- 
tions, was a prisoner of war so treated. On the 4th of September the gov- 
ernor informed Count Montholon that he had, by his communications, incur- 
red the penalty of being sent to the Cape of Good Hope, there to await the 
ulterior orders of his government ; that, as a last testimony of respect to 
General Bonaparte, he had refrained from putting this penalty into execu- 
tion, but that it would be well for Count Montholon to keep this in mind. 

The British government at last consented that the friends of Napoleon 
should send him another physician from Europe. The Emperor could have 
no correspondence with his ft'iends, and knew nothing, except by rumor, of 
this arrangement. He was cut off from all intercourse with his kindred, as 
if he were consigned to the tomb. 

September 19. Dr. Antommarchi, with two ecclesiastics, the aged Abbe 
Buonavita and the Abbe VignaH, arrived at St. Helena. Various circum- 
stances led the Emperor to apprehend that this new physician was but a 
creature of Sir Hudson Lowe, to fulfiU the functions of a spy. Counts Mon- 
tholon and Bertrand, however, made favorable reports, and the Emperor de- 
cided to see the doctor and the ecclesiastics.* 

* That the Emperor had some cause for apprehension in this respect is evident from the follow- 
ing dispatch from Lord Bathurst to Sir Hudson Lowe ; 



614 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ClIAP. XLVII. 

Se/ptemher 22. At two o'clock in the afternoon Dr. Antonunarclii was ad- 
mitted into the narrow and darkened chamber of the Emperor. It was his 
first interview. Napoleon was in his bed, and so little light penetrated the 
curtained windows that it was some time before the doctor could discern any 
object whatever in the room. The Emperor, perceiving this, in gentle tones 
requested him to approach his bedside. 

He questioned him very minutely respecting his parentage, his past his- 
tory, his motives for consenting to come to such a miserable rock, and his 
medical education. Satisfied with his answers, he said, fraiddy, 

" You shall be my physician. Consider me as your father. Now give 
me some intelligence respecting my relations. Begin with my mother. She 
is not disheartened by adversity? She bears it with courage, resignation, 
and dignity ? Does she receive company ? Does she go out into the world ? 
What kind of a life does she lead ?" 

" A very retired life," the doctor replied. " All her thoughts, her wishes, 
are at St. Helena. She only waits for a single word to brave the dangers of 
the sea, and to fold you in her arms." 

" She has been all her life," said Napoleon, " an excellent woman, a moth- 
er unequaled. She has always loved me most tenderly. Does she often 
see her sons and Pauline ? How are they ? What do they say about me ? 
State to me, with precision, all tliat every one of them has commissioned you 
to say to me. What did my mother say ?" 

"That she herself," Antomra^rchi replied, "her children, and her fortune 
are at your majesty's disposal ; that, on the slightest intimation, she would 
give up all she possesses, even though she should endure the greatest misery." 

This noble woman had transmitted to Napoleon a schedule of her property, 
praying him to hold at his command every thing which belonged to her. 
When some one represented that by this course she would reduce herself to 
absolute indigence, she replied, ^'■What consequence is itf Whe7i I arn ut- 
terly destitute, I xoill take my staff and im2)l&re charity for the mother of 
N^apoleon.''' 

"And how is Lucien?" inquired the Emperor. 

" Lucien had arranged with Joseph that they should each of them come 
and spend three years with your majesty, if you did not disapprove of it." 

The British government Avould not allow Napoleon to be solaced by this 
act of fraternal kindness. Lucien applied, as we have before mentioned, to 
the British ministers, to be allowed to proceed to St. Helena, to share the 
captivity of his brotlier for two years, with or without his wife and children. 
He engaged not to occasion any augmentation of expense, and promised to 
submit to every restriction imposed upon his brother, or that might be im- 
posed upon himself, cither before his departure or after his return. This 
humane request was cruelly refused. 



" You will find, I think, Buonavita a very harmless man. The surgeon is reckoned very intelli- 
gent, but I think will not be disposed to be troublesome, as he is apparently inclined to make ad- 
vances to the government by preparing to dedicate the work he is completing to the Prince Kc- 
irent." 



1819, September.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 615 

" And Low is Pauline ?" Napoleon inquired. 

" She only awaits the permission of your majesty to join you." 

Napoleon smiled gratefully. These proofs of continued affection were 
gleams of joy to his imprisoned spirit. For a few moments there was entire 
silence. His heart yearned for his friends, hut he could not endure the 
thought of calling them to share his misery. At length he sadly replied, 

"No, I can not allow any of the members of my family to come and ex- 
pose themselves to the insults of the English, and to witness the indignities 
which arc offered me here. It is quite enough that I am obliged to endure 
them." 

Napoleon then continued to make many minute inquiries respecting all the 
members of his family and of various personal friends, and then he dismissed 
his new physician. After the lapse of a few hours Napoleon sent for him 
again. The room was dimly lighted by a single wax candle. The Emperor 
was dressed, and reclining upon his sofa ; Count Montholon and General 
Bertrand were with him. Napoleon immediately entered into conversation 
with his physician upon anatomy, physiology, and the phenomena of gener- 
ation. 

"His observations," says Antommarchi, "were learned, just, and precise, 
abounding with new views and ideas on the subjects he was discussing. He 
made me undergo a rigorous examination in the shape of a conversation which 
lasted above an hour. I was fortunate enough to answer his questions in a 
manner that satisfied him, and he expressed his satisfaction in very kind and 
highly flattering terms, after which he bade me retire." 

At the close of a frank and touching interview with the two abbes, the 
Emperor said, " We have been too long deprived of the ordinances of religion 
not to be eager to enjoy them immediately, now that they are within our 
power. Hereafter we will have the communion service every Sabbath, and 
we will observe the fete-days recognized by the Concordat. I wish to estab- 
lish at St. Helena the religioiis ceremonies which are celebrated in France. 
On these occasions we will erect a movable altar in the dining-room. You, 
Monsieur Abbe, are aged and infirm. I will select the hour which will be 
most convenient for you. You may officiate between nine and ten o'clock 
in the morning." 

In the evening the Emperor was alone with Count Montholon. The count 
was not a religious man. He had frankly said, " In the midst of camps I 
forgot religion." Napoleon, with great joy, informed Montholon of his in- 
tention to attend mass the next day. He then uttered the following remark- 
able confession : 

"Upon the throne, surrounded by generals far from devout — yes, I will 
not deny it — I had too much regard for public opinion, and far too much 
timidity, and, perhaps, I did not dare to say aloud, I am a believer. I said, 
Religion is a power — a political engine. But even then, if any one had 
questioned me directly, I should have replied, ' Yes, I am a Christian.' And 
if it had been necessary to confess my faith at the price of martyrdom, I 
should have found all my firmness. Yes, I should have endured it rather 



616 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLVII. 

than deny my religion. But, noAV that I am at St. Helena, why should I dis- 
semble that which I helieve at the bottom of my heart ? Here I live for 
myself. I wish for a priest. I desire the communion of the Lord's Sujd- 
per, and to confess what I believe. I will go to the mass. I will not force 
any one to accompany me there. But those who love me will follow me." 

General Bertrand was an avowed unbeliever, and often displeased Napo- 
leon by speaking disrespectfully of sacred things. The Emperor was one 
day, about this time, conversing with him upon Atheism. "Your spirit,*' 
said Napoleon, "i^ it the same as the spirit of the herdsman whom you sec 
in the valley below, feeding his flocks ? Is there not as great a distance be- 
tween you and him as between a horse and a man ? But how do you know 
this ? You have never seen his spirit. No, the spirit of a beast has the en- 
dowment of being invisible. It has that privilege equally with the spirit of 
the most exalted genius. A 

"But you have talked with the herdsman, you have examined his counte- 
nance, you have questioned him, and his responses have told you what he is. 
You jndge, then, the cause from the effects, and you judge correctly. Cer- 
tainly your reason, your intelligence, your faculties are vastly above those 
of the herdsman. Yery well ; I judge in the same way. Divine effects com- 
pel me to believe in a divine cause. Yes, there is a divine cause, a sover- 
eign reason, an Infinite being. That cause is the cause of causes. That 
reason is the reason creative of intelligence. There exists an Infinite being, 
compared with whom you. General Bertrand, are but an atoaii ; compared 
with whom I, Napoleon, with all my genius, am truly nothing — a pure noth- 
ing : do you understand? I perceive him, God, I see him, I have need of 
him, I believe in him. If you do not perceive him, if you do not believe in 
him, very well, so much the worse for you. But you will, General Bertrand, 
yet believe in God. I can j)ardon many things, but I have a horror of an 
Atheist and a materialist. Think you that I can have any sympathies in 
common with a man who does not believe in tjie existence of the soul ? who 
believes that he is but a lump of clay, and who wishes that I may be also, 
like him, but a lump of clay V 

September 23. The doctor found Napoleon in bed, languid, appetiteless, 
and enduring severe pain. As Antommarchi was studying his symptoms, 
the Emperor's questions were unceasing. They were sometimes gloomy, 
Ind sometimes enlivened by pleasantry. " Goodness, indignation, and mirth- 
fiilness," says Antommarchi, "were alternately ex^^ressed by his words and 
his countenance." 

" Well, doctor," said the Emperor, " am I yet destined to disturb for a 
long time the digestion of the rulers of the earth ? I think that they will 
not succeed in putting the fame of our victories under the ban of Europe. 
It wiU be handed down from age to age. It will proclaim the conquerors 
and the conquered ; those who were generous and those who were not ; and 
posterity will judge. I do not dread its decisions. 

" You have given up every thing to come and attend upon me. It is but 
fair that I should also do something. I therefore resign myself. Let physic 



1819, September.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 617 

command. I submit to its decisions, and intrust myself into your hands. 
But, for that purpose, I think it right to give to you an account of the habits 
I have contracted, and of the affections to which I am subject." He then 
briefly mentioned his habits of Hfe. 

Upon Antommarchi expressing admiration of such uncommon temperance, 
the Emperor resumed, 

" On our march with the army of Italy, I always had some wine, some 
bread, and a roasted fowl fastened to my saddle-bow. That provision suf- 
ficed for a whole day. I may even say that I often shared it with my suite. 
I thus saved time, and economized on the table for the field of battle. I eat 
fast, and masticate very little. My meals, therefore, do not consume much 
of my time. This is not what you must approve, I know. But, in the sit- 
uation in which I am placed, what need I trouble myself about care and masti- 
cation? I am attacked with chronic liver complaint, a disease endemic to 
this horrible climate ; I must fall a prey to it. I must expiate on this rock 
the glory I have shed over France, and the blows I have inflicted upon En- 
gland. And see how they proceed ! It is now more than a year since they 
have deprived me of all medical assistance ! I have not been allowed to have 
a physician in whom I had confidence, and have been debarred from the right 
of trying the resources of art ! 

"It is an additional act of cruelty on the part of the English government 
to have selected for this office such a man as Sir Hudson Lowe. But iniq- 
uity seeks iniquity, and guesses where it is to be found. Ministers never 
meditate any atrocity without meeting with some corsair ready to assist them 
in the execution. I abdicated in favor of my son and of the Constitution, 
and freely and voluntarily bent my steps toward England, where I wished to 
live in retirement, and under the protection of its laws. Its laws ! Does 
aristocracy know any law ? Is there a crime it will hesitate to commit, or a 
right it will scruple to trample under foot ? Its chiefs have all lain prostrate 
before my eagles. To some I gave crowns out of the fruit of my victories. 
I replaced others on their thrones, from which victory had hurled them. I 
showed clemency, magnanimity toward all, and all have betrayed me, deserted 
me, and basely contributed to rivet my chains. I am at the mercy of a free- 
booter." 

"I endeavored," says Antommarchi, "to calm the Emperor's agitation. 
He had not been out for eighteen months. I represented to him the dangers 
to which he exposed himself by so prolonged a state of inactivity, and re- 
quested him not to remain pent up in his apartment, but to ride out and 
breathe the open air." 

" No," said Napoleon ; " insults have long confined me to these cabins, and 
now want of strength prevents me from leaving them. Examine that leg. I 
feel that it gives way under me. You feel too gently ; press harder. Tell 
me whether Nature is in league with this Calabrian, and whether the climate 
wiU soon yield up to the minister the corpse which he waits for ?" 

Sefpteinher 25. The Emperor passed a cheerful night, and in the morning ap- 
peared in cheerful spirits. In conversation with Antommarchi, he inquired. 



(318 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. XLVII. 

" Have you not brought me some books ?" 

"We have some, sire," Antommarchi replied, "but I do not know what 
they are. It was not I who purchased them." 

"I warn you," said the Emperor, "that I will see every one of them." 

"But, sire," said Antommarchi, " some libels may have slipped in among 
them." 

"Poh!" said the Emperor, "the sun has no more spots. The herd of 
libelists has exhausted its pasture. Let me see every thing." 

It so happened that at this moment a cart approached Longwood contain- 
ing tlie boxes of books. " They are most welcome," said the Emperor. " I 
shall be relieved from the weight of a few hours. Let them be brought into 
the drawing-room. I will see them opened." 

The boxes were brought in, broken open, and some books were taken out 
of them and handed to the Emperor. "No," said he, earnestly, "that is 
not what I want. Look into the box ; examine it carefully : make haste ! 
A package sent from Europe must contain something else. Books are not 
the first thing 2^. father has to look at." 

Napoleon was not disappointed. Soon a picture was found of his idolized 
son, which had been put in by Eugene. Tears immediately flooded the eyes 
of the Emperor. He gazed upon the beautiful lineaments of his boy long, 
silently, and earnestly, and pressed them with fervor to his lips. The attend- 
ants, moved by these outgushings of parental love, stopped their work, and 
stood in an attitude of religious awe. " Dear boy 1" exclaimed the Emperor ; 




NA.POLEOM RECEIVING THE PORTKAIT OF HIS SON. 



1819, September.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 619 

" if lie does not fall a victim to some political atrocity, he will not Ibe -unwor- 
thy of his father." 

The unpacking was soon again resumed. As the books were taken out, 
JSTapoleon hastily examined them, and laid them aside. He was disappoint- 
ed in not finding some important works which he hoped would have been 
sent him, particularly the celebrated historical work of the Greek historian 
Polybius, and Madam de Stael's " Germany." 

" Why did you not devote," said he, " some four thousand dollars to make 
these purchases ? My mother would have paid them, and you would have 
administered consolation to me by bringing me some books. If at least I 
had Polybius ! But perhaps it will reach me from some other quarter." 

The work did reach him, a short time before his death, through the kind- 
ness of Lady Holland. She was one among many thousand of the most gen- 
erous spirits in England who mourned over the inhuman treatment of Na- 
poleon. 

Some bundles of newspapers were then taken out of the box. "Ah!" 
said the Emperor, "this will bring up the arrears of my information about 
the state of affairs. It is curious enough to see the wise measures which 
were to cancel the recollection of my tyranny ! Poor Europe ! what convul- 
sions are preparing for it." 

September 26. The Emperor passed a sleepless night, and endeavored to 
beguile the weary hours by reading the newspapers. As Dr. Antommarchi 
entered in the morning. Napoleon was looking upon the portrait of his idol- 
ized child, which he held in his hand. 

"Here," said he, "place this admirable child by the side of his mother, 
there, nearer to the mantle-piece. You know her by her blooming looks. 
That is Maria Louisa. She holds her son in her arms. That other picture, 
do you know it also ? It is the imperial prince. You do not guess what 
graceful hand held the needle that sketched this representation of his features. 
It was that of his mother. That picture before which you now stand is 
Maria Louisa again. The two others are portraits of Josephine. I loved 
her tenderly. You are examining that large clock. It served to wake the 
Great Frederick early in the morning. I took it at Potsdam. It was aU 
Prussia was worth. Move the bust of the imperial prince to the left ; it is 
too much to the right. The ornaments of my mantle-piece are, as you see, 
not very sumptuous. The bust of my son, two candlesticks, two gilt cups, 
two vials of eau de Cologne, a pair of scissors to cut nails with, and a small 
glass, are all it contains. This is no longer the splendor of the Tuileries. 
But no matter ; if I am decayed in my power, I am not in my glory. I pre- 
serve all my recollections. Few sovereigns have immolated themselves for 
their people. A sacrifice so immense is not without its charms." 

September 27. The Emperor passed another sleepless night, and had been 
reading for several hours when Dr. Antommarchi entered. " The dampness 
of the two rooms was excessive," says the doctor. " It attacked and destroy- 
ed every thing. The paltry nankeen which served as tapestry was hanging 
in rags against the walls. "We took it down, and endeavored to place before 



620 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [CHAr. XLVII. 

the Emperor's eyes something more pleasing, by putting up, in its stead, 
some muslin' we had purchased, and which we adorned with some fine birds 
of Egypt, of Avhich we had a collection painted on paper. We grouped our 
paintings, and placed in the midst of them an eagle, which was to protect and 
guide them. 'Dear eagle,' said tlie Emperor, 'it would still soar on high 
if tliose whom it covered with its wings had not arrested its flight.'" 

September 28. The Emperor was a little better. When Dr. Antommar- 
chi called, and recommended a bath and more exercise, Napoleon said, 

"While you were in bed, doctor, I was following your prescription. I 
had risen at daybreak, and was walking out to take a little fresh air. I am 
now turning over some ideas which have occurred to me respecting an oper- 
ation in which my orders were not well executed." 

"The flannel bag," says the doctor, "was on the ground, and Napoleon 
standing up, so that I had an opportunity of admiring his costume. It con- 
sisted of a white dressing-gown, a pair of very wide white trowsers with feet, 
red slippers, a Madras shawl around his head, no cravat, and the shirt collar 
open. I examined this singular dress. The Emperor j^erceived it, and said, 
laughing, 

"Ah! I see what arrests your attention. And, to punish you for your 
want of respect for my dress, I close my door against your doings until to- 
morrow. I have some algebraical calculations to make." 

October 3. The Emperor walked out into the garden, accompanied by Dr. 
Antommarchi. The following conversation took place : 

" The climate," said Napoleon, " has been well chosen. It will not let its 
victim escape. But you — how do you find yourself in your situation ? Are 
the eighteen hundred dollars assigned you sufficient to satisfy your wants ?" 

"I am too happy, sire," said Antommarchi, "in being near your person. 
I did not seek fortune. My only ambition has been to offer my services to 
your majesty." 

"That is very well, my dear doctor," said the Emperor, "but to unito 
both things is better still. I give you what I gave at Paris. Circumstances 
are no longer the same, but for that very reason I wish your temporary sal- 
ary to be equivalent to your wants. How long do you intend to remain 
here?" 

"As long," said Antommarchi, "as my services are agreeable to your 
majesty." 

" Do you know," said the Emperor, " that my surgeon is also the surgeon 
of the establishment ? that, being alone, he must be at the same time surgeon, 
physician, and apothecary ?" 

" I know it, sire," Dr. Antommarchi replied. " I am devoted to you for- 
ever. Dispose of me as you may think fit." 

"Well," said the Emperor, "I will not detain you more than five years 
on this rock. After that I will settle upon you a pension of fifteen or eigh- 
teen hundred dollars a year. You will then return to Europe, having enougli 
to lead an independent life. You will be able to resume your anatomical 
labors, and will, in time, be ranked among the first physiologists of the age. 



1819, Octolber.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 621 

You are entitled to my gratitude, esteem, and affection for the sacrifices you 
have made for me." 

October 4. The Emperor was very languid and dejected. He walked out 
with Dr. Antommarchi, and sat down upon a little green knoU beneath the 
shade of a tree. Before him was spread out an extensive scene of desolation 
and gloom. Barren volcanic rocks and blackened crags pierced the clouds 
with the monotony of dreariness. 

"Ah, doctor," said Napoleon, "where is the fine climate of Corsica?" 
After a moment's pause, he continued, "Fate has not permitted me to see once 
more those sites endeared to me by all the recollections of my infant days. 
I intended to reserve to myself the sovereignty of that island, and I could 
have done so, but an intrigue, a moment of ill-humor, altered ray choice, and 
I preferred .Elba. Had I followed my first idea and retired to Ajaccio, per- 
haps I should not have thought of seizing again the reins of power. I should 
not have been vulnerable .on every point. The promises made would not 
have been broken, and I should not be here. I had some idea of seeking 
refuge there in 1815. I was certain of uniting the opinions, wishes, and ef- 
forts of all, and I should have found myself in a condition to brave the malev- 
olence of the allied powers. You know the inhabitants of our mountains ! 
You know their energy, their perseverance, their courage, and with what a 
noble and undaunted mind they face the enemy! 

" It was not, therefore, the sentiments of the population which gave me 
the least uneasiness ; but it would have been said that I got out of the way 
— that I sought the port while all were perishing. I would not seek for a 
refuge while so many brave men were perishing. I resolved, therefore, to 
retire to America, and bent my steps toward England ; but I was far fi-om 
foreseeing on what horrible terms she grants her hospitality. I was also de- 
terred by another consideration : once in Corsica, I did not fear the issue of 
the struggle ; but I should have been in the centre of the Mediterranean ; the 
eyes of France and Italy would have been turned toward me, and the effer- 
vescence would not have subsided. In order to secure their own tranquillity, 
the sovereigns would have been obliged to attack me, and the island would 
have been torn by war. I could not bear the idea of being reproached as 
the cause of its misfortunes. 

" Ah, doctor, what recollections Corsica has left me ! I still enjoy, in im- 
agination, its sites and its mountains. Methinks I still tread its soil, and 
know it even by the odor it exhales. I intended to ameliorate its condition — 
to render it happy ; in a word, to do every thing in its favor ; and the rest 
of France would not have disapproved of my predilection. But our disasters 
came, and I could not carry into effect the plans which I had formed. 

" But my enemies have had the art of making me waste my existence on 
the field of battle. They have transformed into the demon of war the man 
who desired only the blessings of peace. The nations have been deceived by 
the stratagem. All have risen, and I have been overpowered." 

Antommarchi was greatly affected as the Emperor was speaking, and tears 
filled his eyes. 



622 NAIUM.KON AT ST UKl.KNA, [TllAr. MA II. 

** W h;i( is flu' lU.'itdT V" iiiniiirod tho Miu|UM-or. 

*'Ah! siiv," AnIoimiKUv'lii iv-pUovl, " |>anlv>u my ni;itjitivHi ; 1 onn not roi\- 
tivl mv l»H'lin!\s. riu^ rontvasl is ioo sl\ik'\\\i\." 

"IKvdM." s.'iul N;ii>»>K"on. " v>ur vimn(r\ ! our i\mntiv I IT St. IK^K-un 
woix> I'raiu'o, I sliouKl ,lo\o ov»mi this tVi>;lut"ul UH'k." 

(K-fi'/><r r*. ** I was nol t;m\ i I i;i r, " f<;»ys Anloiuiuavvhi. *'\vi(li flic lovms o( 
i>«'HMnonv obsiM'NOil towaiil tlu' I'lmjU'ror. aiul oiulravorcil (o loarn fluMU. auil 
io \uodA \\\\ WAx'Awov uj>vM» that v>t" tlu> iiiilivivluals wlio s^unouutUHl his ^hm- 
siM(. Nouo ol' lis o\or appoannl botinv his uiajostv withiuit luaii>;- jut'viouslv 
aunvMiuvOvl ; ;uiJ, in his jmvsimu'o, wr \vcn> vosporflnl au»l alfiaifivo, staiulinjx 
lip lUU'OVcnHl, wifhout |nosiiuiin<;- lo ap|noai'h or to juit our hats on until in- 
wicd to ilv» so. NohoJv aiUhossod hiui iiuloss in ^xaioral convorsation, in 
whu'h oaso tho Mnipovor hstoiu\l, aus\\on\l. ;ininiafi\l tho (hsiaission, aiul imi- 
hvoiunl it bv his wit, showiu:\' huusi^h" at \\\c sauu^ fiiuo hriUianf. just, kiiul, 
.'uul lull ot' anuMiit\ . 

** Naj'oloou was to us auiiaMo auil atVootioiiato, soolviuLi' to oiMifiv in liiui- 
8«olt' all our atViHMivMis. I lis .-uh ioo was that of a tatlirr, his vopvoaolu\s tlioso 
ol' u tVioiul. Ill his aii;:,vr ho was iunuMiious ami (orrihlo, aiul whmiKI not brook 
OvJUtJlulioliou ; but, tho lit vnor, lu> was all kiiuluoss .aiul attiMitioii, aiul trioil 
bv ovorv moans in his pvMvor lo ooiisv^lo tlioso wlunn ho Ik-uI ill tivatoil. His 
aotious, tho touo ot' his voioo, ;ill oxpivssoil his kiiully t'ooliiii;s, uiul manit'ost- 
od hii* iVii'ivt. Mmmv thiiij\- rolatiiij;- tv> thoso rulos ot' gvMioral oor.dnct aysu? 
oa^sily luulovstood. .-uul I had soon loanunl it. But otiquotto ha.s its tornii*, 
whioh it is impossiblo lo ilivino. I did not know, tor instaiuv, that it I'oi^ 
kulo U\avin>i- tho laiiporor's iwmu until vmloixnl by him to withdraw. 

•' Najudoon hail t'allou .asloop, and, t'oart'ul ot' ilistuvbiiis;' him, I loft tho 
ivom, but I liavl not vol ivaohod my own bot'oiv lio was awako apiiii. \\c 
looked ivund. and not sooiiiji" '»u\ nuig tho Indl, and sont t'or mo. I wiMit baok 
to him, and t'oinul him aviain jusloop. \\c awoko a soooiul timo with a doop 
sigh. {U\d, tixiiiji' his oyos upon mo, said, 
• " *OM yvni juv still hoiv.* 

" * Vos, siiw but I liad gvnio away.' 

** ' Ah!* sjiid ho, visiiis;-. Uvkiiiv; stoadt'astly at mo, and fukiug mo by the 
our, laiivihinj;' at tho sanio timo, " oiwu Capo Coi-sioan ilootor, you loavo mo 
aliUie! you withdmw without my 1o:\yoI VvMi aiv a nov too, and I t'ovgivo 
you; but noithor tho gnvnd jnavshal iior (Joiural MonthoKni would luvvt^ 
JWtiixnl t'i\nu my Unlsido \iutil I sont thom away.* 

"I ontivatovl him to oxouso my ijinun";inoo. Wo apiin smilod aiul said, 
*Ah! you mv a novioo.* ** 

A'A>ArTS. Tho banpouu', t*ooliHii* hi Wttor hoalth. and his spirits nniving, 
soul t'or tho chiKlivu ot' (.unvoml IVrtnuid. As they had not stvu him tor 
sOYoral day^ tlioy w oiv v^vorjowd at tlio iwvitntiou. Full v>t* gKw they has- 
touod to his nvm, and lvg:ui to play and s|H>vt an>und him. Tlioy made him 
tho arbitor ot'tiioir disoussions, and apjK\'di\l to him with all tho atUvtiou and 
t'aiuiliarity ot* ohildivn witii a t*athov. Tho k>iu>ly cJuuuWr ot* tlio KiniH^ivr 
Uvamo at oiuv tho sivno ot* ioyTul tumults. Tho F.m^>orv>r t*vM^t his cnres 



1819, November. I RKSIDENGJ': AT [,ONfiWOOD. 02;', 

and liiH ^riefH, ixnd player] wilJi liii-! yourir.'; ef^rnpunionH vviUi all ihc rnirUiCuJ- 
ncHH of a eiiild. He k<\\){, fJiejn all to dine vvilii liirn. lie, look, tin; beau- 
tiful little JlortcnHia JJ(;i'l,rand \ty \\]h Hid(; at the dinner-tahl*;. Alter din- 
ner the noise and the frolie weic renumed. At lanl, Uiey wiUidrew, fiaving 
extorted from tiu; Mirij)(;ror tin; j^ro/ni.sf; that he would nee them again tlie 
next day. 

"How liaf)))y," ;;riid the Kmporor, after they had gone, " tlie,y ull arr-, wlieii 
T Hend for tliem, or play vvitli thefri ! All their wiHJie.H are HatiHlied. I'aHHionB 
have not yet ;i,pf;r(^aeh<;d their jieartH. '^I'h(;y feel tlif; pl(;nitud<; of (;xiHtf;nee. 
Jjet them ejijoy it. At their ap;e,, I thought and fejt u.H they do. What 
HtorniH ninee, ! liut how mueh that litth; lIortenHia grown and imfrroveH* 
If nlje liveH, of Iiow many young ('l&jans w'lil nhe not diHturh the repoHel I 
shall then be, no frK>n;." 

N}rtui'mJMir K>. "^I'hc; 10m|)f;ror Iiad paKHed a good niglit, and wan able tc^ 
walk into tlie gardfvn, whitlif,r I)r. Arjtommarfdii aef;omfjanif;d liim. He waft 
very w'.ak, and h;j,ving ;-:;)t down, he lookf;d around him from right to left, 
and Haid, with a mournful (;xpreHHioJi, 

"Ah! doctor, where i.s l*'ranee and itK cheerful climatf;? If I could but 
see it once more! If J could but breathe a little air that liad passed over 
that hay/jty country! What a Kpecifie is the soil that gave us Ijirth ! An- 
ta;us r(;newed. Iiis strength by touching the earth; and J feeJ tliat this prod- 
igy would bo repeated in me, and that I should revivf; on perceiving our 
coasts. Our coasts ! Ah ! I had forgotlxsn that cowardice has taken victory 
by surprise ; its decisions are witliout a[ipeal. 

" JJut the decrees of 1^ ate are immutajjle, and avc.ry one must submit to 
his destiny. Mine was to run, through ihe extremes of life, and I set out to 
accomjdish tlu; task allotted to me. My father was going to Versailles as 
deputy of the nobility of (Jorsica, and I accompanied him. We passed 
through l^'uscany, wh(;r(s I saw j^'lorence and the grand duke, and arrived at 
Paris. We were recommended to the queen; my father met with a most 
flattering reception, and J. entered JJricnnc. I was happy ; my ideas began 
to ferment. 1 f(;lt a want to learn, to know, to push myself forward, and 1 
devourcid the contents of (ivery book I could procure. In a short time 1 be- 
came the theme of universal conversation at tlie school; I was admired and 
envied. 1 felt a consciousness of my own powers, and enjoyed my superior- 
ity. Not that there did not 'Arv/ddy then exist some charitable souls who 
endcavoHid to errdjitter my satisfarition. J had, on 'drr'wlri'^ at the school, 
been introduced into a room, in which was a portrait of the JJuke of Choiscul, 
and the sight of that odious man, who had sold my country, Ixad drawn from 
me an expression of hatred and contempt. This was blasphemy — this was 
a crime sufficient to efface my succ(;ss ; but 1 allowed malevolence to vent 
itself, and applied to study with redoubled ardor and application. I saw 
what men are, and madf; my profit of tlie observation." 

One day, as the J'^njjcror was arranging a bed of I'Vcnch beans, he per- 
ceived some small roots, and began a dissertation upon the pjhenomena of 
vegetation. He analyzed tliem, and descanted upon tliem with his usual 



(324 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. XLVII. 

sagacity, drawing from them the conclusion of the existence of a Superior 
Being Avho presides over the wonders of nature. 




THE EMPEROR A GARDENER 



" You do not believe in that, doctor,'' said he ; " you physicians are above 
those Avcaknesses. Tell me, you who arc so Avell acquainted Avitli the human 
frame, Avho have searched it in all its turnings and Avindings, have you ever 
met the soul under your scalpel ? Where does the soul reside ? In what 
organ ?" 

At another time the Emperor was much interested in observing some ants 
who frequented a table in his bed-room upon which there usually stood some 
sugar. He Avas anxious that tliey should not be disturbed in their opera- 
tions ; he only now and then moved the sugar, following their maneuvers, 
and admiring the activity and industry they displayed until they had found 
it again. 

"This is not instinct," said he; "it is much more — it is sagacity, intel- 
ligence, the ideal of civil association. But these little beings have not our 
passions, our cupidity. They assist, but do not destroy each otlier. I have 
vainly endeavored to defeat their purpose ; I have removed the sugar to ev- 
ery part of the room ; they have been one, two, or sometimes three days look- 
ing for it, but have always succeeded at last. The idea strikes me to sur- 
round the basin with water, and see whether that will stop them. Doctor, 
send for some." 

But Avatcr did not stop them ; the sugar Avas still pillaged. The Emperor 
then substituted vinegar, and the ants no longer ventured to approach. 

"You see," said Napoleon, "it is not instinct alone that guides them; 



1819, December.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 625 

they are prompted Ibj something else, but what I know not. However, be 
the principle which directs them what it may, they offer to man an example 
worthy of observation and reflection. It is only by perseverance and tena- 
ciousness that any object can be obtained. Had we possessed such una- 
nimity of views ! But nations have their moments of forgetfulness and lassi- 
tude. Allowance must be made for the weakness of human nature. 

" But how ridiculous," continy.ed the Emperor, " are these new dogmas of 
legitimacy which they now seek to defend ! What contradictions ! Are 
these principles in conformity with Scripture, with the laws and maxims of 
religion ? Are nations simple enough to believe themselves the property of 
a family ? Was David, who dethroned Saul, a legitimate ? Had he any 
other rights than those he derived from the consent of his nation ?^ In France 
various families have succeeded each other on the throne, either by the will 
of the people or the votes of the Parliaments. The house of Hanover, which 
succeeded the prince which it dethroned, now reigns because such was the 
■will of the ancestors of the present race of these touchy people, who thought 
this change of government absolutely necessary to the preservation of their 
interests and of their religious rites. Some of the old men still living have 
witnessed the efforts made by the last branch of the Stuarts to land in Scot- 
land, where they were seconded by' those whose ideas and sentiments were 
conformable to their own. The attempt was opposed, and the Stuarts re- 
pulsed by an immense majority of the people, whose new interests and opin- 
ions were opposed to those of that degenerate family." 

December 31. For several months nothing had occurred to interrupt the 
monotony of the Emperor's existence. He had constructed a small garden 
near his windows, where he amused himself in the cultivation of veirctables 
and flowers. Almost all intercourse was cut off. between the inmates of 
Longwood and the detested governor. 

On the 31st of December Sir Hudson Lowe sent a note to Longwood 
informing Count Montholon that, "with the view of persuading Am," for 
thus he designated the Emperor, "to take exercise on horseback, and of con- 
sulting the convenience of the persons belonging to Ms suite at Longwood, I 
have taken upon myself to make such additions to the circuit already grant- 
ed as are explained in the annexed memorandum." 

The Emperor could now ride out without being exposed to insult, and 
could return to his chamber without being challenged and questioned by a 
sentinel, even if his ride was prolonged a few moments into the grateful even- 
ing twilight. Thus, at the close of the year 1819, a faint gleam of sunshine 
ptcnetratcd the gloomy dungeon where the Emperor was immured. 

Re 



626 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLVIII. 



CHAPTER XLVIII. 

1820. . 

New-year's Day — Gardening Operations — Journal of the orderly Officer — Remarks on Waterloo 
and the Holy Alliance — Interview with the Daughter of Sir Hudson Lowe — Scenes at Fontaine- 
bleau — The Emperor's filial Affection — Birth-day Presents — Proposal for Escape — Aversion to 
Medicine — Public Works of the Emperor — The Fish-basin — Death of the Princess Eliza — Re- 
marks on the Divorce — The Close of the Year. 

January 1. Tlie sun at St. Helena rose cloudless on the morning of the 
1st of January, 1820. The Emperor received the customary congratula- 
tions of his friends with much apparent pleasure. " His manner toward us 
all," says Montholon, "was one of paternal kindness, and he assured us that 
it was long since he had felt himself so well." The enlargement of the lim- 
its, to which the governor had at last consented, led the Emperor again to 
seek exercise on horseback. This exercise recruited his health and revived 
his spirits. He rode frequently about fi\T. miles to a lawn in front of the 
house of Sir William Doveton, and there breakfasted, with his companions, 
\inder the shade of some trees. With health returned his recollections and 
anecdotes, and he resumed his dictations. 

"A shelter from the disagreeable trade-winds," Count Montholon writes, 
" and a little shade from the sun, were two things the want of Avhich, in our 
small degree of comfort at Longwood, was incessantly felt. The, Emperor 
took up the idea of erecting both one and the other in the small gardens, and 
he was the first to set to work, giving us all tlie example of labor. 

" It was a picture worthy of being represented by the most celebrated art- 
ists, to see the conqueror of so many kingdoms, him who had dictated laws 
to so many sovereigns, at dawn of day, with his spade in his hand, a broad 
straw hat on his head, and his feet clad in red morocco slippers, directing our 
labors, and those, assuredly more useful, of the Chinese gardeners of the es- 
tablishment. In a few days he succeeded in this manner in raising two cir- 
cular walls of tufts of bad grass, about eleven or twelve feet high, on a diam- 
eter of twenty yards, on a line with his bed-room and the library. 

" The walls being finished, the Emperor had twenty-four lai-ge trees pur- 
chased, and caused them to be planted with two yards square of earth round 
their roots. The artillery company undertook the charge of transporting 
them to Longwood, with the help of several hundred Chinese. 

"In this manner he created for himself a possibility of taking air and a 
little exercise at any hour of the day or night, without being annoyed by the 
sun or the presence of his jailers." 

Captain Nicholls was at the time orderly officer at Longwood. He was 
entirely in the confidence of the governor, and performed his duties in such 
a manner as to secure his most cordial commendation. He kept his eye 



1820, Januaiy.] 



RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



627 



vigilantly fixed upon the inmates of Longwood, and reported to the govern- 
or every event which occurred. The following extracts from his journal will 
be read with interest : 

'■'■January 1. Sowerby saw General Bonaparte in his favorite garden to- 
day. He was out in the evening till gun-fire (nine o'clock), looking at the 
boys and others firing crackers. 

" January 2. General Bonaparte was amusing himself with the pipe of 
the fire-engine, spouting water on the trees and flowers of his favorite gar- 
den. 

" January 4. I saw General Bonaparte several times to-day, walking about 
the large garden. He still amuses himself by gardening, that is, superin- 
tending ; however, he at times takes a watering-pot in his hands. 

" January 5. General Bonaparte dined under the trees with Count Mon- 
tholon. 

'■'■January 9. General Bonaparte was busily employed amid his valets gar- 
dening. He had on his head a large straw hat. He did not seem to mind 
a little rain which was falling. 




THE EMPEROR GARDENING. 



" January 10. I saw General Bonaparte this morning. He was amusing 
himself in one of his favorite gardens. His morning dress at present consists 
of a white gown and straw hat, with a long, broad brim. In the afternoon 
he appears out in a cocked hat, green coat, and white breeches and stockings. 
He walks a good deal most afternoons in Longwood garden, accompanied by 
either Count Montholon or Bertrand, and often pays a visit to the Bertrands 
in the evenings. 

'■'■January 12. This day the one-eyed cooper came up from Jamestown 
with a large tub, twelve feet wide, for General Bonaparte's favorite garden, to 
serve as a reservoir. The cooper told me that the general was very much 
pleased with the tub, and gave him a glass of wine in consequence with his 
own hand. The old cooper seemed highly delighted. 



G28 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLVIII. 

'■'■January 18. I saw General Bonaparte in his little garden this morning. 
Counts Bertrand and JVIontholon busily employed measuring out more ground 
for the extension of the garden for the general. The general was out a good 
deal to-day. Tlie day uncommonly line. 

'■'■ January 19. General Bonaparte was employed superintending the build- 
ino- of a sod wall. He had Count IMontholon and all his valets hard at work. 
The young Bertrands carrying water to wet the sods as they were laid. The 
general's appearance was rather grotesque this morning. However, he ap- 
peared highly amused." 

Thus lingered slowly away the months of January, February, and March. 
On one occasion, at the close of some very eloquent remarks upon the condi- 
tion of Europe, the Emperor said, 

" I had, I repeat, inclosed in a leathern bottle the Avind of political storms. 
The bayonets of the English pierced it at Waterloo. I alone could jjroceed 
unattacked by storms to universal regeneration. It is no longer possible, 
unless by the aid of fearful tempests. 

" What will be tlie result of the proceedings of the Holy Alliance ? Eu- 
rope will sooner or later form but two camps — kings and their followers on 
one side, nations and their interests on the other. It will no longer be di- 
vided by nationality into kingdoms, but will be divided by color, by opinion. 
Who would venture to predict tlie crisis, the effects of so many storms now 
piled heap upon heap on the European horizon ? As to the issue, it is in- 
dubitable ; for enlio-htenment never rctrofrrades but to advance more success- 
fully. Nations and kings Avill regret me, and if ever my son is restored to 
the French, he may say to them, ' ]My father's thoughts w^ere of you, on his 
rock in the midst of the Atlantic ; I submit to }'Our sanction the Constitution 
which he has left as a legacy to me, with his advice, for the grandeur and 
prosperity of our beloved country.' " 

Aboiit this time Montholon records the following pleasing incident : 

" A walk taken by the Emperor in the direction of Sandy Bay gave him 
an opportunity of catching a glimpse of Lady Lowe. He tliought her very 
pretty, and could not forbear expressing his regret at not being acquainted 
with her. A few days afterward, ]\Iiss Susannah Jolmson, the young and 
pretty daughter of Lady Lowe, ventured to come alone to Longwood, and 
begged me to show her the gardens newly created, as if by magic, by the 
manual labor of tlic ]^]mperor. I had that moment left his apartment, when 
I saw Miss Johnson passing the barriers of our inclosure on horseback, and 
followed only by a groom. When this young girl suddenly arrived, there- 
fore, and, springing lightly to the ground, explained her desire, asking rac 
whether it were not possible to satisfy it, I, believing I miglit be certain of 
not meeting the Emperor in the garden, yielded to her wishes, and, offering 
her my arm, conducted her to the private gardens. We had scarcely gone 
a hundred paces, however, before, on making a turn in the covered walk, we 
found ourselves face to face with tlie Emperor, who, seated on a bench, ap- 
jieared to be watcliing us. My surprise was great, but less so, I think, than 
the impression made on Miss Johnson. Her pretty face was lighted up with 



1820, July.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 629' 

indescribaljle animation, and her looks expressed at once her timid embar- 
rassment and her joy at seeing the Emperor. His manner toward her was 
amiable and kind. He had a plate of sweetmeats brought to her, appeared 
to take pleasure in showing her his gardening labors, said not a word which 
might remind her that she came from Plantation House, and, as she was 
taking her departure, plucked a rose, and offered it to her as a souvenir of 
what he termed her pilgrimage.''^ 

April, May, June, and July passed slowly away, while the Emperor en- 
deavored to beguile the dreadful monotony of Longwood by working in the 
garden, and by reading, and occasionally dictating to his friends. 

J-ul]/ 20. The Emperor was reclining upon his sofa, languid and dejected. 
Dr. Antommarchi, in defiance of the infamous injunctions of Sir Hudson 
Lowe, conversed freely with his illustrious patient upon any subject which 
mio-ht interest his mind. Rome was mentioned. The noble mother of Na- 
poleon was there in exile. A crowd of tender recollections rushed upon the 
mind of the affectionate and dying son. With a trembling lip he spoke of 
her maternal love, and of the care with which she had watched over his child- 
hood. Turning his eyes to Dr. Antommarchi, he said, 

" You, doctor, are very much attached to me. You care not for contrarie- 
ties, pain, or fatigue, when you can relieve my sufferings ; yet all this is not 
maternal solicitude. Ah! mamma Letitia!" He could say no more. Weak- 
ened by sickness, his emotion overcame him, and, burying his face in his 
hands, he remained silent. 




THE FlSH-BASlN. 



630 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XL VIII. 

July 31. Even the bleak rocks of St. Helena looked cheerful this lovely 
day. The fish-basin was completed, and the Emperor, accompanied by all 
the children, went into the garden to put some fishes into the water which 
had thus been provided for them. 

August 15. Another anniversary of the Emperor's birth-day had arrived. 
As usual, he gave presents to the children, and to all the members of the 
household. " He seemed heartily to share," says Montliolon, " the noisy joy 
Avith wliich the munificence of his presents inspired the children. He ap- 
peared to be truly happy, as a good father might be in the midst of his fam- 
ily, when, at dinner, he was surrounded by our cliildren, or when he amused 
himself by exciting their gayety, and drawing forth their little secrets. 

" His great pleasure was to constitute himself a judge between them and 
us. He had accustomed them to this, and really I know not how we should 
have contrived to preserve our parental authority had he not always found 
means to adjudge us in the right, at the same time that he persuaded the chil- 
dren that his justice was impartial. But whenever the question agitated re- 
lated to a piece of bread or jam, or a party of pleasure, his judgment Avas al-. 
ways in favor of the children." 

About this time, a sea-captain returning from the East Indies proposed 
a plan to take the Emperor to America. AVhen the Emperor Avas informed 
of it, he said, 

" I thank the captain for his devotedncss ; but my resolution not to strug- 
gle against my destiny is immovable. I should not be six montlis in Amer- 
ica Avithout being assassinated by the Count d'Artois's creatures. Remem- 
ber the Isle of Elba. Did he not send the Chouan Brulard thither to organ- 
ize my assassination ? Had it not been for the brave man AA-hom chance had 
placed as marshal of the gendarmerie in Corsica, and Avho caused me to be 
warned of the condition of this Life Guardsman, avIio confessed every thing, I 
should have been assassinated. Every thing is Avritten in Heaven. It is 
my martyrdom Avhich Avill restore the croAvn of France to my dynasty. I 
see in America nothing but assassination or oblivion. I prefer St. Helena." 

Octoher 14. The Emperor Avas very feeble. Dr. Antommarchi advised 
the application of blisters, 

"Z>o you think, then.,'''' said the Emperor, '■'■that Sir Hudson Lowe does 
not torture 7ne enough ? No physicking, doctor," he continued. " We are, 
as I liaA^e often told you, a machine made to live. We are organized for that 
purpose, and such is our nature. Do not counteract the living principle. 
Let it alone. Leave it the liberty to defend itself. It Avill do better than 
your drugs. Our body is a Avatch that is intended to go a given time. The 
AA'atch-maker can not open it, and must, in handling it, grope his Avay blind- 
fold and at random. For once that he assists and relieves it, by dint of tor- 
menting it Avith his crooked instniments, he injures it ten times, and at last 
destroys it. 

" You are aware, doctor, that the art of licaling consists only in lulling and 
calming the imagination. That is the reason Avhy the ancients dressed up 
in robes, and adopted a costume striking and imposing. That costume you 



1820, October.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 631 

have tinaclviseclly abandoned, and, in so doing, you have exposed the im- 
posture of Galen, and no longer exercise the same powerful influence over 
jour patients. Who knows," he continued, playfully, " whether, if you were 
suddenly to appear before me with an enormous wig, a cap, and a long train, 
I should not take you for the god of Health, whereas you are now only the 
god of Medicine ?" 

It is affirmed by the companions of the Emperor that he had but little 
confidence in the medical skill of the doctor. Antommarchi was an anatom- 
ical professor of some celebrity, but he had seen very little practice. The 
Emperor immediately perceived this deficiency, and, to spare the feelings of 
his kind physician, veiled his want of confidence in his medical adviser by 
magnifying his want of confidence in medicine. 

October 22. The Emperor was quite cheered by a day of freedom from 
pain. He said to Dr. Antommarchi, 

" When my health is once re-established, I shall restore you to your stud- 
ies. You shall proceed to Europe, and publish your works. I will not suf- 
fer you to waste your existence on this horrible rock. You have told me 
that you do not know France. You will then see that country. You will 
see those canals, those monuments with which I covered it during the time 
of my power. The duration of that power has been like that of a flash of 
lightning. But no matter ; it is filled with useful institutions. 

"Yes, I have hallowed the Revolution by infusing it into our laws. My 
code is the sheet-anchor which will save France, and entitle me to the bene- 
dictions of posterity. Besides, there are the great public works. The Alps 
leveled ! The plan of that undertaking is one of the first formed at the com- 
mencement of my career. I had entered Italy, and finding that the commu- 
nications with Paris occupied a considerable time, and were attended with 
much difficulty, I endeavored to render them quicker, and resolved to open 
them through the valley of the Rhone. I also wished to render that river 
navigable, and to blow up the rocks under wliich it ingulfs and disappears. 
I had sent engineers to the spot. The expense would have been inconsid- 
erable, and I submitted the plan to the Directory. But we were carried 
away by events : I went to Egypt, and nobody thought any more about it. 

"On my return I took it up again. I had dismissed the lawyers, and, hav- 
ing no more obstacles in the way, we applied ouir hammers to the Alps. We 
executed what the Romans had not dared to try, and traced through blocks 
of granite a solid and spacious road, capable of resisting the efforts of time." 

October 25. The Emperor, suffering extremely from pain, had at last con- 
sented to the application of blisters. Sadly he said to his physician, 

" Can any thing be more deplorable than my present condition ? This is 
not life ; it is mere existence. My health will never be restored. Even my 
present situation must be precarious, and perhaps death wiU soon terminate 
my sufferings." 

The doctor urged that if he would consent to follow the treatment pre- 
scribed, he would soon be better. 

"You are a doctor," replied the Emperor, "and would promise life to a 



632 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA.. [ChAP. XLVIII. 

corpse if it would take pills. But I do uot deceive myself. I feel that I am 
near my end. All the powers of the vital functions are concentrated on the 
spot which the blisters have excited." 

October 26. The Emperor was worse. He sat before a large fire, endeav- 
•)rino- in vain to warm his shiverina; frame. 

" In wliat a state am I !" said he to the doctor. " Every thing seems to 
weigh upon me— to fatigue me. I can scarcely support myself. You liave 
not, among the resources of your art, any means of reviving the play of the 
inachine ?" 

It was all this time supposed that tlie Emperor was suffering from the liver 
complaint. All the remedies were directed to meet that disease, which did 
not exist. Though a cancer was devouring the Emperor's stomach, it is a 
remarkable fact that he seldom felt any pain there. 

Novemher 5. The Emperor, while in the bath, found a transient respite 
from pain. In conversation, he passed in review the works which lie had exe- 
cuted in Italy. 

" I made roads from Pa via to Padua ; from Padua to Fusina and Ponte 
Longo ; from Sarravalle to Belluno and Cadore ; and from Vicenza to No- 
varra. I dug the port of Maloraocco ; drained the valleys which terminate 
at Verona ; threw bridges over the Adige ; restrained the inundations of the 
Bacchiglione ; raised dikes ; reconstructed canals and aqueducts ; and yet 
this was only the beginning of what I had planned for Italy." 

Noveraher 6. The Emperor walked with a tottering step to the fish-basin. 
He often sat there for hours in silent thought, amusing himself by following 
the motion of the fishes, and throwing them crumbs of bread. Unfortunately, 
some mysterious disease suddenly attacked them : they struggled for a few 
moments, floated on the water, and one after another died. The Emperor 
was deeply affected by this incident. 

" You see," said he, in touching tones of melancholy, " that there is a fa- 
tality attached to me. Every thing that I love, every thing that belongs to 
me, is struck. Heaven and mankind unite to afflict me." 

From that moment neither weather nor sickness could prevent him from 
going daily to visit them himself. At last it was discovered that the fish 
were poisoned by the cement wliich liad been used in the construction of the 
basin. A few were rescued alive and placed in a tub. 

Novemher 19. In the utmost extreme of lassitude and debility, the Em- 
peror, as he returned from a short walk, threw liimself upon his bed, and said 
to the doctor, 

" What a delightful thing rest is ! The bed is become for me a place of 
luxury. I would not exchange it for all the thrones in the world. What 
an alteration ! How fallen am I ! I, whose activity was boundless, whose 
mind never slumbered, am now plunged into a lethargic stupor, and must 
make an eftbrt even to raise my eyelids ! I sometimes dictated upon differ- 
ent subjects to four or five secretaries, who wrote as fast as words could be 
uttered. But then I was Napoleon. Now I am no longer any thing. My 
strength, my faculties forsake me. I do not live ; I merely exist." 



RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



633 



1820, December.] 

November 20. Dr. Antommardii makes the mournful record, "The Em- 
peror was absorbed in profound melanchoij, and did not pronounce a single 
word." 

December 16. The Emperor passed a night of extreme restlessness. After 
taking a bath, he endeavored to walk about the drawing-room, but his limbs 
bent beneath his weight, and lie was obliged to sit down. 

" See," said he, feeling of his legs, " they are exhausted ; there is nothing- 
left- — mere skeletons. Every thing must have a term. I am fast approaching 
mine, and I do not regret it, for I have indeed no reason to be attached to life. '' 

December 26. Newspapers arrived from Europe. The Emperor perused 
them with great avidity. They contained the intelligence of the death of the 
Emperor's sister Eliza. The tidings threw him into a state of stupor. He 
sat in his arm-chair, his head hanging down on his breast, motionless, in in- 
expressible grief. Deep sighs at intervals escaped him. The doctor entreat- 
ed him to walk out into the open air. The Emperor silently consented. He 
rose Avith difficulty, and, leaning upon the doctor's arm, said, "I am very 
weak. My trembling legs can hardly support me." It was a lovely day. 
The Emperor walked as far as the summer-house, when his strength failed, 
and he sank down upon a bench which was near. After a few moments of 
silence, he spoke of the death of his sister, and said, 

" You see, doctor, that Eliza has just shown us the way. Death, which 




PORTRAIT OF ELIZA, THE SISTER OF BONAPARTE. 



634 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [Chap. XLVIII. 

seemed to have overlooked my family, now begins to strike it. My turn can 
not be far distant. I have no longer any strengtli, energy, or activity left. 
1 am no longer Napoleon. Your care is without avail against Fate. Its 
decrees are immutable, its decisions without appeal. The lirst person of 
our family who will follow Eliza to the grave is that great Napoleon who 
here drags on a miserable existence — who sinks under its weight ; but who, 
however, still keeps Europe in a state of alarm. But as for me, all is over. 
My days will soon end on this miserable rock." 

The Emperor returned to his room and to his bed. He began to converse 
about Maria Louisa and his idolized son. It was a painful subject, and An- 
tommarchi endeavored to divert his thoughts. 

"I understand you, doctor," said the Emperor. "Well, be it so. Let 
us forget, if indeed the heart of a father can forget." The anguish which the 
Emperor must have endured in being thus cruelly separated from his wife 
and child no words can express. 



ijii; ihi 




NAPOLEON WITH HIS \MJ L \M) lULD 



December 1. The Emperor was increasingly ill. He complained of sharp 
internal pains resembling the stab of a penknife. Speaking one day of Jo- 
sephine, 

" My divorce," said he, "has no parallel in histoiy, for it did not destroy 
the ties which united our families, and our mutual tenderness remained un- 
changed. Our separation was a sacrifice demanded of us by reason, for the 
interest of my crown and of my dynasty. Josephine was devoted to me ; 
she loved mc tenderly ; no one ever had a preference over me in her heart. 
I occupied the first place in it, her children the next. And she was right 
in thus loving me, for she is the being whom I have most loved, and the 
remembrance of her is still all-powerful in my mind." 



Dccemher 31. Under this date Count Montholon makes the following rec- 



ord: 



" The night between the 31st of December, 1820, and the 1st of January, 



1821, January.] 



RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



635 




THE EMBARRASSED INTERVIEW. 



1821, was one of the last passed in intimate conversation on the recollections 
of a better time. The disease, which was some months Isitev to deprive us 
of the Emperor, made, after this time, rapid progress. He daily felt himself 
less disposed to activity either of mind or body ; a, general feeling of fatigue 
oppressed him. He remained sometimes for hours listlessly seated in an 
easy-chair, and perfectly silent ; he who before had passed the greatest part 
of the day in pacing the apartment, at the same time either dictating, or re- 
calling recollections and collecting materials for his work. I now often re- 
mained standing for hours near him, expecting the termination of a phrase, 
or waiting till he should decide upon rousing himself from his state of tor- 
por otherwise than by these few words, ' Well, my son, what have you now 
to say ? What shall we do V And it was only by reiterated entreaties, dic- 
tated by the convictions of a filial tenderness which he deigned to under- 
stand, that I was able to persuade him to take the air, either on foot or in the 
caleche ; and this always revived him, until the crisis of the 17th of March, 
which was the prelude of his death." 



CHAPTER XLIX. 

1821, January to May. 

Completion of the new House — Lady Holland — Phrenology — Departure of Buonavita — Progress 
of the Disease — Remarks to Dr. Arnott^ — The Emperor's Will — Atheism — The last Letter — The 
Dying-scene — Burial — Departure of the Companions of Napoleon. 

The commencement of tlie year 1821 found the Emperor rapidly sinking 
to the grave. Sir Hudson Lowe had at length nearly completed a new house 
for his captive, but a few rods from the miserable hovel where the Emperor 
had now been for five years imprisoned. But the captive had become wont- 
ed to his dungeon, and, in the extreme of debility and dejection, manifested 
no disposition to change his dying bed. 



636 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. XLIX. 



IS 




im^ i 



THE .NEW HOi:SE. 



As all hope of relief expired, and the hour of death drew near, the Emperi 
or thought more and conversed more respecting the future world. The ec-. 
clesiastics who had been sent to St. Helena were men of ordinary intellects 
and of limited information. Napoleon respected their sincerity, but, as com- 
panions, they were utterly valueless. The infirm old man, Buonavita, soon 
found it necessary, in consequence of his health, to return to Europe. The 
young man Vignali remained, and Napoleon undertook to guide him in his 
studies. It is deeply to be deplored that the Emperor had no Christian 
friend near him in whom he could repose confidence, and who could transmit 
a record of his religious thoughts in these sad hours. General Bertrand Avas 
an avowed unbeliever. Montholon was a " man of camps," generous, high- 
minded, but entirely thoughtless upon religious subjects. Antommarchi often 
wounded and displeased the serious-minded Emperor by his irreverence to- 
ward all serious things. Under these circumstances, it is singular that so 
much of the Emperor's religious conversations should have been preserved. 
We know that he was a daily and a careful reader of the Bible. We have 
his undoubted testimony that he became a cordial believer in Christianity, 
and tliat he understood and appreciated the way of salvation through faith in 
Jesus Christ. 

The Emperor expressed frankly to Count Montholon his great disappoint- 
ment in 'the utter incapacity of his spiritual advisers. "I want," said he, 
*' a man of education and learning — a theologian with wliom I can discuss 
the great topics of religion, and who can answer my questions on those re- 



1821, March.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 637 

ligious subjects wliicli require to Ibe examined and sounded to their depths ; 
one who is perfectly versed in the history of religion, and who is capable of 
acting as my guide in the perusal of the Scriptures — one able to convince 
and satisfy my mind." 

Count Month olon also represents him as saying, " Voltaire himself asked 
for the consolations of religion before his death, and perhaps I also might 
find much comfort and relief in the society of an ecclesiastic capable of in- 
spiring in me a taste for religious conversation, who might render me devout." 

During the months of January and February but little occurred to inter- 
rupt the melancholy monotony of the dying chamber. 

March 12. Lady Holland, with that compassionate interest which she un- 
ceasingly took in the fate of the noble captive, sent to the Emperor a pack- 
age of books, with a bust containing divisions according to the craniological 
system of Gall. As the Emperor looked at the divisions, he said, 

" We will talk on this subject when we shall have nothing better to do. 
As a resource, it will do as well as any other. And it is sometimes amusing 
to consider how far folly may be carried. Corvisart was a great admirer of 
Gall. He praised him, protected him, and used his utmost endeavors to 
push him up to me ; but there was no sympathy between us. Such men 
as Lavater, Cagliostro, Mesmer, have never ranked very high in my estima- 
tion. I even felt a kind of aversion to them. Gentlemen of this description 
are all dexterous and well-spoken. They work upon that thirst after the 
marvelous which the generality of mankind experience, and give the coloring 
of truth to the falsest theories. 

"Nature does not betray herself by her outward forms. She does not 
disclose her secrets ; she conceals them. To judge and examine men upon 
such slight indications is the act of a dupe or of an impostor. The only way 
to know men is to see them, observe them, and put them to the test. To 
avoid falling into errors, they must be studied a long time and be judged by 
their actions ; and even that rule is not infallible, and requires to be restrict- 
ed in its operation to the moment in which they act, for we seldom act con- 
sistently with our genuine disposition. We give way to the transport or 
impulse of the moment, or are carried away by passion. And this consti- 
tutes what is called vice or virtue, perversity or heroism. Such is my opin- 
ion, and such hag long been my guide. Not that I pretend to deny the in- 
fluence of disposition and education. I think, on the contrary, that it is im- 
mense ; but beyond that, every thing is but mere speculation and foUy." 

March 16. The Emperor's exhaustion was extreme. Languidly he raised 
his eyes, and said, " To what a state am I reduced ! I, who Avas so quick, 
so active, can now scarcely raise my eyelids ; but I am no longer Napoleon.", 

Madam Bertrand called in to the sick-chamber. She was also in very 
feeble health. The Emperor talked of walking out with her, and said, 

" We wiE. go out early. We will enjoy the fresh air of the morning. We 
shall gain appetite, and escape the influence of the climate. You, little Hor- 
tense, and myself are the greatest invalids. We must assist each other, and 
unite our strength to fight against the latitude, and deprive it of its victims." 



638 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLIX. 

This day the infirm old Abbe Buonavita took leave of the Emperor, as he 
was to embark for Europe. The Emperor said to Antommarchi, 

" Accompany this good man to Jamestown. Give him every assistance 
and every advice so long a voyage requires. I should like to know that the 
good ecclesiastic were already arrived at Rome. Do you not suppose tliey 
will give him a favorable reception ? At any rate, they owe it to me to treat 
him well ; for, after all, without me, what would have become of the Church ?" 

March 18. A consultation of physicians was held, and but little hope was 
cherished of the Emperor's recovery. Speaking of the re-establishment of 
Christianity in France, Napoleon said, 

" It was for from my wish to interfere in matters of divine Avorship. The 
Revolution had disturbed so many interests, that it was but fitting that re- 
hgious opinions at least should be respected. I caused overtures to be made 
to the Pope. I proposed to him to join the French government, and use his 
influence to consolidate the internal tranquillity of the two states, and con- 
tribute to the advantage of both. I said to him, 

" ' The moment is arrived for executing an operation in which wisdom, 
policy, and true religion are equally interested, and in the performance of 
which they must equally concur. The French government has given per- 
mission to open anew the churches of the Catholic faith, and grants to that 
religion tolerance and protection. The priests will either take advantage of 
this first act of the French government, in the true spirit of the Gospel, by 
contributing to public tranquillity and preaching the true maxims of cliarity, 
which are the foundation of the religion of the Gospel, in which case I have 
no doubt that they will obtain a more special protection, and that this will 
be a happy commencement toward the attainment of tlie end so much desired ; 
or they will pursue a totally diiferent line of conduct, in which case they will 
be again persecuted and driven away. 

" ' The Pope, as the chief of the faithful and the common centre of faith, 
may have a great influence over the conduct of the priests ; and he will, 
perhaps, think it worthy of his wisdom, and of the most sacred of all relig- 
ions, to promulgate an order prescribing to the priests to obey the govern- 
ment, and do all in their power to consolidate the established Constitution. 
If that order be expressed in terms concise and favorable to the great end 
which it may produce, it will be a great step toward the re-establishment of 
order, and extremely advantageous to the prosperity of religion. The desire 
of being useful to religion is one of the principal motives that induce me to 
act.' " 

3fa7'ch 20. The Emperor was suffering from acute internal pain and from 
a burning fever. Madam Bertrand came in, and to cheer her he made a great 
effort to throw off his dejection ; but he soon sank down again in exhaus- 
tion, saying, 

" We must prepare for the fatal sentence. You, Hortense, and myself 
are doomed to meet our fate on this miserable rock. I shall go first, you 
will come next, and Hortense will follow. We shall all three meet in the 
Elysian fields. 



1821, March.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 639 

" ' Mais a revoir Paris, je ne dois plus pretendre ; 

Vous voyez qu'au tombeau je suis pret a descendre. 

Je vais au Roi des rois demander aujourd'hui 

Le prix de tous les maux que j'ai soufferts pour lui.' " 

March 26. A physician of much celebrity arrived at the island, and the 
governor urged that he should see the Emperor. Napoleon raised his eyes 
languidly, and replied, 

"In order to be a second edition of Dr. Baxter, and make false bulletins! 
Does the governor still want to deceive Europe, or is he already thinking 
of the autopsy? I will not have any man who is in communication with him. 
A consultation ! What would be the use of it ? Another physician would 
not see more than you do of what is passing in my body. Besides, whom 
should I consult ? Englishmen, who would be inspired by Hudson ? No ! 
I will have none of them. I prefer letting the crime be accomplished. The 
stain resulting from it will be equal to all my sufferings." 

Antommarchi still entreated for a consultation for his own sake. "Very 
well," said the Emperor, kindly, "I give my consent. Consult with the 
physician of the island whom you consider most skillful." Antommarchi 
immediately applied to Dr. Arnott, surgeon of the 20th regiment. 

March 27. "Doctor," said the Emperor, kindly, "you must be quite ex- 
hausted. You are constantly disturbed, and have not a moment to sleep. 
I am not gone yet, and must take care of you ; I will have a bed prepared 
for you in the next room." 

He immediately gave the necessary orders, and then said, 

"I am approaching my end. What effect do 3^ou suppose my death will 
produce in Europe ?" 

"Your majesty," said Antommarchi, "is the idol of the soldiers; they 
would be inconsolable. The nations would be at the mercy of kings, and 
the popular cause would be forever lost." 

"Lost, doctor!" said the Emperor; "and my son! can you suppose that 
he will be forgotten ? Will he have greater obstacles to encounter than I 
overcame ? Did I start from a higher point ? No, doctor ! my son bears 
my name, and I leave him my glory, and the affection of my friends. It is 
not difficult to inherit my estate." 

March 29. The hidden disease was making rapid progress. " That which 
is written is written," said the Emperor. " Can you doubt, doctor, that ev- 
ery thing that happens is written down ? that our hour is marked, and that 
it is not in the power of any of us to take from Time a portion which Nature 
refuses us ? 

" To take medicine," said he, in a tone expressive of the utmost repug- 
nance, "is, perhaps, beyond my power. The aversion I feel for medicines 
is almost inconceivable. I exposed myself to dangers with indifference — I 
saw death without emotion ; but I can not, notwithstanding all my efforts, 
approach my lips to a cup containing the slightest preparation. True it is 
that I am a spoiled child, who has never had any thing to do with physic." 

Then turning to Madam Bertrand, who was present, he said to her, "How 



640 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 



[Chap. XLIX. 




CHAMBER OF SICKN £.•».■>. 



do jou manage to take all tliose pills and drags wliiclj the doctor is constant- 
ly prescribing for you. ?" 

" I take them," Madam Bertrand replied, " without thinking about it, and 
[ advise your majesty to do the same." 

The Emperor then addressed the same question to Count Montholon, from 
whom he received a similar answer. 

"I am, then," he added, "the only one who rebels against medicine. 1 
will no longer do so. Give me your stuff." Receiving the cup in his hand, 
he immediatelv swallowed the nauseatino; dose. 

April 8. The Emperor passed a night of dreadful suffering. At one time, 
overpowered with anguish, he was heard to exclaim, as he tossed upon his 
bed, "Ah! since I was to lose my life in this deplorable manner, why did 
the cannon balls spare it ?" 

Aj)7'il 14. The Emperor was a little more comfortable, and conversed with 
mueh animation with Dr. Arnott, whom we have before mentioned as the sur- 
geon of the 20th regiment, and who had been admitted to the Emperor as 
consulting physician. 

"Marlborough," said Napoleon, "was not a man who was narrowly con- 
fined to the field of battle. He fought and negotiated. He was at once a 
captain and a diplomatist. Has the 20th regiment got his campaigns ?" 



1821, April.] RESIDENCE AT I^ONGWOOD. g41 

"I think not," the doctor replied. 

"Well, I have there a copy of them," said the Emperor, "which I am 
glad to oiFer to that hrave regiment. Take it, doctor ; and you will place it 
in their library as coming from me." 

Sir Hudson Lowe was guilty of the inconceivable brutality and insolence 
of ordering this book to be returned to General Bonaparte. He would not 
allow the regiment to receive the gift. "Dr. Arnott," says Lord HoUand, 
indignantly, " was ordered to return the book, first, because it had not been 
transmitted through the Government House, and, secondly, because it was in 
the name of the Emperor Napoleon and not of General Bonaparte. Pitiful, 
naiTOw-minded malignity, disgraceful alike to the government and its agents." 

Captain Lutzen, the|i the English orderly officer at Longwood, who was 
ordered to return the book, ventured to express some honest indignation in 
A^ew of such an atrocity. For this crime he was immediately punished by 
dismission from office. The English officers at Longwood suffered about as 
ranch from the petty tyranny of Sir Hudson Lowe as did the French them- 
selves. 

Aj)ril IB. The Emperor passed a very uncomfortable night, being drenched 
in the lybst profuse perspiration. "I changed the Emperor's linen," says 
Monthoion, "seven times during the night, and each time both flannel and 
linen '(vrere perfectly steeped, and even the Madras which he wore on his 
head; He will not allow any light to be kept burning in his chamber, and 
only permits one wax candle to be left lighted in the next room. 

•' This morning, on awaking, the Emperor said to me, 'To-day I will dic- 
tate my last wishes to you ; return at noon.' When I returned at the ap- 
pointed hour, he requested me to bolt the door, and bid me write. He dic- 
tated for two hours unmterruptedly, and then asked me to read the dictation 
/to him, saying kindly, ' Do you wish I should leave you more ?' My emo- 
/ tion was too great to allow of my making any reply. He perceived this, and 
/ said, ' You may go and make a fair copy of what I have dictated. The day 
after to-morrow, which will be my good day, we will read it over again. 
You shall dictate it to me, and I will write.' "* 

* The Emperor's will, which was very long and minute, and in which every friend was remem- 
bered, commences as follows : 

" 1. I die in the Apostolical Roman religion, in the bosom of which I was born more than fifty 
years since. 

" 2. It is my wish that my ashes may repose on the banks of the Seine, in the midst of the 
French people, whom I have loved so well. 

" 3. I have always had reason to be pleased with my dearest wife, the Empress Maria Louisa, 
and retain for her, to my last moment, the most tender sentiments. I beseech her to watch, in or- 
der to preserve my son from the snares which yet environ his infancy. 

" 4. I recommend to my son never to forget that he was born a French prince, and never to allow 
himself to become an instrument in the hands of the triumvirs who oppress the nations of Europe. 
He ought never to fight against France, or to injure her in any manner. He ought ta adopt my 
motto — Every thing for the French jicople. 

" 5. I die prematurely, assassinated by the English oligarchy and its deputy. The English na- 
tion will not be slow in avenging me. 

"6. The two unfortunate results of the invasions of France, when she had still so many resources, 
are to be attributed to the treason of Marmont, Augereau, Talleyrand, and La Fayette. I forgive 
theru. Mav the posterity of France forgive them, as I do. 

S s 



642 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLIX. 

Ap7'il 14. The Empei'or requested Montliolon to bring to him his will. 
He read over carefully what he had written, and dictated some changes. It 
has heen said, very unfairly, "Napoleon bequeathed in his will a sum of 
money to the miscreant who attempted to assassinate the Duke of Welling- 
ton in Paris." The following is the item of the will : 

" Two thousand dollars to the subaltern officer, Cantallon, who has under- 
gone a trial upon the charge of having endeavored to assassinate Lord Wel- 
lington, of whic/i he was pronounced innocent. Cantallon had as much right 
to assassinate that oligarchist as the latter had to send me to perish upon the 
rock of St. Helena. Wellington, who proposed this outrage, attempted to 
justify himself by pleading the interests of Great Britain. Cantallon, if he 
had really assassinated that lord, would have excused himself, and would 
have been justified by the same motives — the interest of France — to get rid 
of a general who, moreover, had violated the capitulation of Paris, and by 
that had rendered himself responsible for the blood of the martyrs Ney, La- 
bedoyere, &c., and for the crime of pillaging the museums contrary to the 
text of the treaties." 

Napoleon rewarded no assassin. He kindly remembered on^?^^who had 
been falsely accused, whom the tribunals declared to be innocent, ^d who, 
from known devotion to the Emperor, had suffered the anguish of inlprison- 
ment and trial. ^ 

April 15. The Emperor, now fully conscious that death was im .r ..t 
hand, passed nearly the whole of the day dictating his will. When Aiuora- 
marchi entered, he found the carpet covered with papers which Napoleon 
torn up. .; 

"My preparations are made, doctor," said the Emperor; "I am goih^^, 
It is all over with me. I know the truth, and I am resigned." \ 

Ajpril 16. The Emperor was again employed upon his will until five 
o'clock. Such excessive application, in his exhausted state, seemed unnat- 
urally to excite his mind. As Dr. Antommarchi entered, and manifested 
much uneasiness respecting the state in which he found his patient. Napoleon 
said, 

" It proceeds from having been a long while engaged in business. I have 
written too much." Then placing his hand upon his stomach, he exclaimed, 
" Ah ! doctor, what sufferings ! what oppression ! I feel at the left extremity 
of my stomach a pain whicli quite overpowers me." 

April 19. About noon the Emperor arose from his bed, and took a seat 
in an arm-chair. He was free from pain, and appeared quite cheerful. Mon- 

" 7. I thank my good and most excellent mother ; Cardinal Fesch ; my brothers Joseph, Lucien, 
and Jerome ; Pauline, Caroline, Julie, Hortense, Catharine, and Eugene, for the interest they have 
continued to feel for me. I pardon Louis for the libel he published in 1820 ; it is replete with false 
assertions and falsified documents. 

"8. I disavow the 'Manuscript of St. Helena,' and other works, under the titles of 'Maxims,' 
' Sayings,' &c., &c., which persons have been pleased to publish for the last six years. I caused 
the Due D'Enghien to be arrested and tried, because that step was essential to the safety, interest, 
and honor of the French people, when the Count D'Artois was maintaining, by his own confession, 
sixty assassins at Paris. Under similar circumstances, I would act in the same way." 




1821, April.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. g43 

tholon read for some time to liim, and all were cheered with the hope that 
the sufferer was getting better. As this hope was expressed, the Emperor 
looked around upon his companions with a placid smile, and said, 

" My friends, you are mistaken. I am better to-day, but I feel, neverthe- 
less, that my end is approaching. After my death, every one of you will re- 
turn to Europe. Some of you will see your relations again, others their 
friends, and I shall join my braSve companions in the Elysian Fields. Yes, 
Kleber, Desaix, Bessieres, Duroc, Ney, Murat, Massena, Berthier, will all 
come to meet me. They will speak to me of what we have done together, 
and I will relate to them the last events of my life. On seeing me again, 
they will all become once more animated with enthusiasm and glory. We 
will talk of our wars with the Scipios, Hannibal, Casar, Frederick. There 
will be pleasure in that, unless," he added, smiling, "it should create alarm '"" 
in the next world to see so many warriors assembled together." 

At this moment Dr. Arnott came in. The Emperor received him with 
much affability. But, after a few moments' conversation, he said, in very 
solemn tones, 

" It is all over with me, doctor. The blow is struck. I am near my end, 
and shall soon surrender my body to the earth. Bertrand, approach and 
translate to this gentleman what you are going to hear. It is the relation 
of a series of indignities worthy of the hand that has bestowed them. Ex- 
press my full meaning. Do not omit a single word. 

" I had come to seek the hospitality of the British people. I asked for a 
generous protection, and, to the subversion of every right held sacred upon 
earth, chains were the reply I received. I should have experienced a differ- 
ent reception from Alexander, The Emperor Francis would have treated 
me with more respect and kindness. Even the King of Prussia would have 
been more generous. It was reserved for England to deceive and excite the 
sovereigns of Europe, and give to the world the unheard-of spectacle of four 
great powers cruelly leagued together against one man. Your ministers have 
chosen this horrible rock, upon which the lives of Europeans are exhausted 
in less than three years, in order to end my existence by assassination. 

"And how have I been treated since my arrival here ? There is no spe- 
cies of indignity or insult that has not been eagerly heaped upon me. The 
simplest family communications, which have never been interdicted to any 
one, have been refused to me. No news, no papers from Europe have been 
allowed to reach me. My wife and son have no longer existed for me. I 
have been kept six years in the tortures of close confinement. The most 
uninhabitable spot on this inhospitable island, that where the murderous ef- 
fects of a tropical climate are most severely felt, has been assigned to me for 
a residence. And I, who used to ride on horseback all over Europe, have 
been obhged to shut myself up within four walls in an unwholesome atmos- 
phere. I have been destroyed piecemeal by a premeditated and protracted 
assassination. The infamous Sir Hudson Lowe has been the executioner of 
these atrocities of your ministers. You will end like the proud republic of 
Venice ; and I, dying upon this dreary rock, away from those I hold dear. 



(544 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLIX. 

and deprived of eveiy thing, bequeath the opprobrium and horror of my death 
to the reigning family of England." 

The Kmperor was much exhausted by this eifort, and sank back almost 
fainting upon his j)illow. He gradually fell into a peaceful sleep, and con- 
tinued slumbering until about midnight. He then woke, and requested Count 
Montholon, who was sitting at his bedside, to send for the Abbe Vignali, 
saying, "Leave us alone, but return as soon as he shall have left me." The 
abbe remained an hour with the Emperor, and made arrangements for erect- 
ing an altar the next day by his bedside, and to administer the sacrament 
of the Lord's Supper to the dying Emperor. Montholon then returned to 
the room. He found the Emperor serene and thoughtful. After a few mo- 
ments of religious conversation, Napoleon turned upon his pillow and again 
fell asleep. 

April 21. The Emperor again sent for the Abbe Vignali, and gave him 
very minute instructions respecting the preparation of his body for burial, 
with all the customary religious ceremonies of the Catholic Church. Think- 
ing that he perceived an expression of contempt upon the countenance of Dr. 
Antommarclu, he turned to him solemnly and said, 

" Sir, you are an Atheist ; you are a physician. Physicians believe in 
nothing, because they deal only in matter. I am neither a philosopher nor 
a physician. I believe in God. I am a Christian, a Catholic Christian. Be 
an Atheist, sir, if you will, but as for me, I wish to fulfill all the duties which 
religion imposes, and to receive all the consolation which it administers. It 
is not every one who can be an Atheist." 

After the abbe had retired, the Emperor, again addressing the doctor, said, 

"How can you carry it so far? Can you not believe in God, whose ex- 
istence the greatest minds have believed ?" 

Antommarchi made some apology, saying that he had never doubted the 
existence of God. The Emperor replied, 

" You are a physician. Those people have only to do with matter. They 
never will believe any thing." 

" When we were visiting at Madam Bertrand's," says Mrs. Abell, " we al- 
Avays passed our Sundays as if at home, reading the lessons for the day, and 
observing the prayers, &c. One Sunday morning Napoleon came bustling in, 
and seeing me very earnestly employed reading aloud to my sister, asked 
what I was so intently engaged upon, and why I looked so much graver than 
usual. I told him I was learning to repeat the Collect for the day, and that, 
if I failed in saying it, my father would be very angry. I remarked, 

" ' I suppose you never learned a Collect or any thing religious, for I am 
told you disbelieve the existence of a God.' He seemed displeased at my 
observation, and answered, 

" ' You have been told an untnith ; when you are wiser, you will under- 
stand that no one could doubt the existence of a God.' 

" My mother asked him if he was a predestinarian, as reported. He ad- 
mitted the truth of the accusation, saying, ' I believe that whatever a man's 
destiny calls upon him to do, that he must fulfill.' " 



1821, April.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. g45 

It is very evident that the Emperor iDelieved in human responsibility as 
well as in \h& foreordination of God. Recognizing these truths as beyond 
the range of finite minds, he did not attempt their reconciliation. It is safe 
to say that every deep thinker is compelled to do homage to both of these 
truths. 

April 24. " The Emperor has again," says Count Montholon, " spoken to 
rae of his will. He thinks of adding to it several arrangements with which 
he will charge the Empress and Prince Eugene. His imagination is unceas- 
ingly employed in seeking to find resources from which to gratify his liber- 
ality. Each day brings to his mind the remembrance of some other old serv- 
ant whom he would wish to remunerate." 

Napoleon spoke of the different kinds of worship — of religious dissensions. 
"I had formed a plan," said he, "to reconcile all sects. Our reverses oc- 
curred too soon to allow me to carry that plan into execution. But I have 
at least re-established religion, and that is a service the results of which are 
incalculable." 

General Bertrand, enraged by the insults which he had received from Sir 
Hudson Lowe, was determined to challenge him to a duel as soon as their 
mutual relations of jailer and prisoner should cease. In the governor's offi^ 
cial documents it is stated, "It is pleasing to be able to mention that Napo- 
leon, on his death-bed, earnestly begged Count Bertrand to use every means 
in his power, consistent with his honor, to effect a reconciliation Avith Sir 
Hudson Lowe, saying that he hoped that he would succeed, as he himself 
alone had been the cause of the differences between them. This was, at all 
events, stated by Madam Bertrand to Admiral Lambert, and she added that 
her husband was very desirous to fulfill Napoleon's dying wish." 

April 26. The Emperor was pretty calm during the night, until about four 
in the morning, when he said to Count Montholon, with extraordinary emo- 
tion, 

" I have just seen my good Josephine, but she would not embrace me. 
She disappeared at the moment when I was about to take her in my arms. 
She was seated there. It seemed to me that I had seen her yesterday even- 
ing. She is not changed ; still the same, full of devotion to me. She told 
me that we were about to see each other again, never more to part. She 
assured me that — did you see her ?" 

" I took great care," says Count Montholon, " not to say any thing which 
might increase the feverish excitement too plainly evident to rae. I gave 
him his potion and changed his linen, and he fell asleep ; but, on awaking, 
he again spoke to me of the Empress Josephine, and I should only have use- 
lessly irritated him by telling him that it was only a dream. 

" The reading of an English journal," Montholon continues, " awakened in 
the Emperor's mind one of those terrible impressions against which his reason 
was powerless, but which always have their origin in a noble feeling. Un- 
fortunately, Bertrand, in translating quickly, did not perceive that the article 
he was translating was an infamous libel against Caulaincourt and Savary, 
and when he would have stopped the Emperor made him proceed ; then in- 



G4G NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [CnAI>. XLIX. 

teiTupting Iiim suddenly, he cried, ' This is shameful !' He then sent for me, 
ordered me to bring out his will, opened it, and interlined the following words 
without saying a word to us : 

" ' I caused the Due D'Enghien to be arrested and tried, because that step 
was essential to the safety, interest, and honor of the French people, when 
the Count D'Artois was maintaining, by his own confession, sixty assassins 
at Paris. Under similar circumstances, I would act in the same way.' 
Having written these few lines, he gave me back the will, and dismissed us 
by a sign of the hand." 

In the evening he was in quite a stupor. As the doctor urged him to take 
some medicine, he pushed it away, and, suddenly rallying, said, 

"Doctor, you ought to marry. I must arrange a marriage for you." 

" For me, sire ?" 

" Yes, for you. You are too warm, too quick. You need something to 
calm your impetuosity. Marry, therefore, an 3<]nglish woman. Ilcr iced 
blood will temper the lire which animates you, and you will be less tena- 
cious." 

" ]\Iy object, sire," said Antommarchi, "was to administer relief to your 
majesty. I had no intention of doing any thing that might displease you." 

" I know it, doctor," said the Emperor, immediately relenting, "and there- 
fore your patient will be henceforward more obedient. Give me the medi- 
cine." He swallowed it at a single draught, and. handing the cup to the doc- 
tor, said, •" When a man has been guilty of irreverence toward Galen, it is 
thus that the sin must be expiated." 

Aiwil 27. The Emperor passed a very painful night. A profuse perspira- 
tion rendered it necessary for him frequently to change his linen. He ob- 
tained scarcely two hours of sleep. At six o'clock in the morning Marchand 
came to relieve Count ]\Iontholon. The Emperor kept him busy several 
hours sealing with ribbons his will and codicils. He caused an inventory 
of his caskets to be made, and with his own hand wrote and signed, upon a 
pasteboard tablet, all the superscriptions on the envelopes. 

While IMarchand was making an inventory of the contents of the Emper- 
or's caskets, the Emperor took from one of them a diamond necklace, and 
gave it to him, saying, 

" Take this ; I am ignorant in what state my affairs may be in Europe ; 
the good Hortense gave me this before she left Malmaison, thinking that I 
might have need of it. I believe it to be worth two hundred thousand francs : 
hide it about your person. When you reach France, it Avill enable you to 
await the provision which I make for you in my will. Marry honorably ; 
make your choice among the daughters of the officers or soldiers of my Old 
Guard : there are many of these brave men who are happy. A better fate was 
reserved for them, had it not been for the reverse of fortune experienced by 
France. Posterity will acknowledge all that I would have done for them 
had circumstances been different," 

The Emperor then dictated the following letter, to be sent by Count Mon- 
tholon to Sir Hudson Lowe, announcing his death : 



1821, Apdl.] 



RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



C47 



" MoNSiEUE LE GovEENEUE, — Tlie Emperor Napoleon breatlied his last 
on the , after a long and pamful illness. I have the honor to communi- 
cate this intelligence to you. The Emperor has authorized me to communi- 
cate to you, if such be your will, his last wishes. I beg you to inform me 
what are the arrangements prescribed by your government for the transporta- 
tion of his remains to France, as well as those relating to the persons of his 
suite. I have the honor to be, &c., CouNT Montholon." 




THE EMPEROK DICTATING HIS LAST LETTER. 



April 28. The physical prostration of the Emperor was extreme, yet his 
mind appeared to retain all its vigor. The tones of his voice were peculiar- 
ly gentle and tender as he addressed his friends. Calling Dr. Antommarchi 
to his bedside, he said, 

" After my death, which can not be far distant, I desire that you will open 
my body. I insist, also, that you promise that no English medical man 
shall touch me. If, however, the assistance of one should be indispensable, 
Dr. Arnott is the only one whom you have permission to employ. I farther 
desire that you will take my heart, put it in spirits of wine, and carry it to 
Parma to my dear Maria Louisa. You will tell her that I tenderly loved 
her — that I never ceased to love her. You will relate to her all you have 
seen, and every particular respecting my situation and death. I particularly 
recommend to you carefully to examine my stomach, and to make a precise 
and detailed report of the state in which you may find it, which report you 
will give to my son. The vomitings, which succeed each other almost with- 



648 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChA]?. XLIX. 

out interruption, lead me to suppose that the stomach is, of all nij organs, 
the most diseased. I am inclined to believe that it is attacked with the 
same disorder which killed mv father — I mean, a scirrhosis in the pylorus. 
I began to suspect that such was the case as soon as I saw the frequency 
and obstinate recurrence of the vomitings. I beg that you will be very jmr- 
ticular in your examination, that, when you see my son, you may be able to 
communicate your observations to him, and point out to him the most proper 
medicines to use. When I am no more, you will go to Rome. You will 
see my mother and my family, and will relate to them all you may have ob- 
served concerning my situation, my disorder, and my death on this dreary 
rock." 

From this effort his mind wandered away in the dreams of delirium. 

April 29. The Emperor passed a night of burning fever. At four o'clock 
in the morning he requested Count Montholon to bring a table to his bed- 
side, and he occupied himself two hours in dictating two projects, one on the 
destination of A^ersailles, the other on the organization of the National Guard 
for the defense of the kingdom. 

"Astonishment," says Count Montholon, " has often been felt at the great 
faculties of the Emperor, which permitted him, on the eve of or on the day 
after a battle, which either was about to decide or had decided the fate of a 
throne, to sign decrees, and occupy himself with matters purely administra- 
tive ; but these facts are far inferior to the one which we hei*e attest. But 
five days later, all that remained of this sublime genius was a corpse, and 
yet his thoughts were still constantly directed toward the happiness and fu- 
ture prospects of France." 

The Abbe Vignali was now called in. A movable altar was constructed 
at the bedside of the dying Emperor. All retired from the room except the 
abbe. The Emperor then, in silence and in solitude, received the sacrament 
of the Lord's Supper. After the solemn ordinance, Count Montholon, upon 
returning to the room, Avas struck with the placid and peaceful expression of 
the countenance of the Emperor. 

The slumbers of the night were peaceful. As in the early dawn the Em- 
peror opened his eyes, he said to his valet, in tones of peculiar gentleness 
and serenity, 

" Open the window, ]\Iarchand. Open it wide, that I may breathe the 
air — the good air which the good God has made." 

Dr. Antommarchi, when he entered, found the Emperor, though fast sink- 
ing, calm and rational. To his suggestion that a blister should be applied 
to the stomach, the Emperor replied, " Since you wish it, be it so. Not that 
I expect the least effect from it ; but my end is approaching, and I am de- 
sirous of showing, by my resignation, my gratitude for your care and atten- 
tion." 

The feverish state of his stomach induced him to drink much cold water. 
With characteristic gratitude, he exclaimed, " If Fate had decreed that I 
should recover, I would erect a monument upon the spot where the water 
flows, and would crown the fountain, in testimony of the relief Avhich it has 



1821, May.] 



RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 

'Ill,, J/' 



649 




THE EMPEROR RECEIVING THE SACRAMENT OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 

aiForded me. If I die, and my Ibody, proscrilbed as my person lias Ibeen, 
should be denied a little earth, I desire that my remains may he deposited in 
the Cathedral of Ajaccio, in Corsica. And if it should not he permitted me 
to rest where I was horn, let me he huried near the limpid stream of this 
pure water." 

Jfay 1. The Emperor, though very feeble, spent two hours dictating to 
Count Montholon. He then sent for the Abbe Vignali, and, after a private 
interview with him, an altar was erected, and the prayers of the Church for 
the dying were offered. 

Jfai/ 2. The Emperor was in a raging fever during the night, and quite 
delirious. His wandering spirit retraced the scenes of the past, visited again 
his beloved France, hovered affectionately over his idolized son, and held fa- 
miliar converse with the companions of his toil and his glory. Again the lu- 
rid storms of war beat upon his disturbed fancy as his unrelenting assailants 
combined anew for his destruction. Wildly he shouted, " Steingel, Desaix, 
Massena! Ah ! victory is declaring. Run! hasten! press the charge ! They 
are ours !" Suddenly collecting his strength, in his eagerness he sprang from 
the bed, but his limbs failed him, and he fell prostrate upon the floor. 

At nine o'clock in the morning the fever abated, and reason returned to her 
throne. Calling the doctor to his bedside, he said to him earnestly, "Rec- 
ollect what I have directed you to do after my death. Proceed very care- 
fully to the anatomical examination of my stomach. I wish it, that I may 



GaO NAPOLEOX AT ST. HELENA. [CuAP. ^ILIX. 

save my son from that cruel disease. You will see liim, doctor, and ^^ou will 
point out to him what is best to be done, and will save him from the cruel 
sufferings I now experience. This is the last service I ask of you." 

At noon the violence of the disease returned, and Napoleon, looking stead- 
fastly and silently upon the doctor for a few moments, said, "Doctor, I am 
very ill ; I feel that I am going to die." He immediately sank away into 
insensibility. All tlie inmates of Longwood Avcre unremitting in their atten- 
tions to the beloved sufferer. He Avas to them all, from the highest to the 
lowest, a father Avhom they almost adored. The zeal and solicitude they 
manifested deeply moved the sensibilities of the Emperor. He spoke to 
them in grateful words, and remembered them all in his will. As he recov- 
ered from this insensibility, he spoke faintly to his companions, enjoining it 
upon them to be particularly careful in attending to the comfort of the Imm- 
ble members of his houseliold after he should be gone. " And my poor Chi- 
nese," said he, "do not let them be forgotten. Let them have a few scores 
of Napoleons. I nnist take leave of them also." 

About eight o'clock in the evening the Emperor revived a little, and at- 
tempted to dictate to ]\Iarchand some testamentary aiTangements in favor of 
ins son and of the Princess Pauline ; but he soon found that he was unable 
to control the wanderings of his mind. 

May 3. The Emperor was in a burning fever, and during the night was 
quite delirious. With a convulsiA^e movement, he rose up and endeavored 
to get out of bed. With difficulty he was induced to lie down again. A 
raging thirst consumed him, and he called often for orange Avater. 

At two o'clock in the afternoon he revived for a moment, and said to those 
who Avere appointed the executors of his Avill, and aa^io Avere at his bedside, 

" I am going to die, and you to return to Europe. You have shared my 
exile, you Avill be faitliful to my memory. I have sanctioned all good prin- 
ciples, and haA-e infused them into my laAVS and my acts. I have not omit- 
ted a single one. Unfortunately, hoAvever, the circumstances in AAdiich I was 
placed Avere arduous, and I Avas obliged to act AV'ith severity, and to postpone 
the execution of my plans. Our reverses occurred. I could not unbend the 
boAA", and France has been deprived of the liberal institutions I intended to 
giA'c her. She judges me AA'ith indulgence. She feels grateful for my inten- 
tions. She cherishes my name and my victories. Imitate her example. 
Be faithful to the opinions Ave have defended, and to tlie glory Ave have ac- 
quired. Any other course can only lead to shame and confusion." 

He then sent for the Abbe Vignali. All the rest retired ; and the dying 
Emperor, for the second time, in silence and in solitude partook of the em- 
blems of that Savior's loA^e Avho was AA^ounded for our transgressions, and 
AA'ho bore our sins in his OAvn body on the tree. The Emperor then, Avith a 
serene spirit, fell asleep. 

May 4. It Avas a dark and melancholy day ; the rain fell in torrents, and 
a fierce gale hoAvled over the drenched crags of St. Helena. Napoleon's fa- 
vorite willoAV Avas torn up by the roots, and every tree at Longwood was laid 
prostrate in the mud. The elemental AA'arfare disturbed not the quiet spirit 



PvESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 



651 



1821, Maj.] 

of the dying Emperor, as, in liis darkened cliamber, lie no longer resisted tlic 
approach of the King of Terrors. 




niL blOl M 



May 5. "The night was very bad," says Count Montholon. "Toward 
two o'clock delirium hecame evident, and was accompanied by nervous con- 
tractions. Twice I thought I distinguished the unconnected words, France 
— arinee, tete cVarmee — Josej)hine ; at the same moment the Emperor threw 
himself out of his bed by a convulsive movement, against which I struggled 
in vain. His strength was so great that he threw me down, bringing me 
with him on the carpet. He held me so tightly that I could not cry out for 
help. Happily, Archambaud, who v/as watching in the next room, heard 
some noise, and hastened to assist me to replace the Emperor in bed. A few 
minutes afterward, the grand marshal and Dr. Antommarchi, who had thrown 
themselves on a sofa in the library, also entered ; but the Emperor had al- 
ready lain down again, and was calm. 

" He seemed to be sleeping tranquilly when I left him at six o'clock in 
the morning, but I had scarcely had time to throw myself on my bed when 
some one came in haste to fetch me ; the rattling in the throat — the forerun- 
ner of death — was beginning ! 



G52 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLIX. 

■ " When I approaclicd the bed, the Emperor looked at me, and made me a 
sign to give him sometliing to drink. But abeady his power of swallowing 
was gone, and it was only hj means of a sponge wetted with sugared water 
that I was enabled to allay his thirst, by constantly pressing the spono'e to 
Ids lips. From this moment until lialf past five in the evenino-, when he 
breathed his last, he remained motionless, lying on his back, with his rio-ht 
hand out of the bed, and his eyes fixed, seemingly in deep meditation, and 
witliout any appearance of suffering. His lips were slightly contracted, and 
his whole face expressed pleasant and gentle impressions. 

"As the sun was setting, the Emperor quitted this eartldy life, and I lost 
more than a father. I piously fulfilled the duty which his kindness confided 
to me — I closed his eyes. 




THE DYING-SCENE. 



" Immediately after his death, I wrote the letter which he had dictated to 
me on the 28th of April, announcing liis death, and dispatched it to Sir Hud- 
son Lowe, and at the same time I sent to inform Dr. Arnott and the orderly 
officer of the event. They came in to verify the fact, and both testified their 
respect and grief while obeying this sad duty. The head surgeon of the 
garrison and the head surgeon of the squadron then entered, and coldly laid 
their hands on the Emperor's heart. They only saw in this act the fulfill- 
ment of a formality — of a duty ; and it did not even seem to occur to their 
minds that the heart whicli had just ceased to beat was that of one of those 
extraordinary and privileged men wlic^ appear once in a century, as manifest- 

V 



1821, Maj.], RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 653 

ations of tlie gi-eat powers of the human mind. At seven o'clock in the even- 
ing, at the grand marshal's request, M. Marchand and I went to him for the 
purpose of drawing up the pvocls-vey^hal of the death of the Emperor, and 
of the delivery made to me by Monsieur Marchand of the testamentary acts, 
as well as of the envelopes containing the receipts for the deposits of money. 
I was obliged to stop, however, before their completion, for I felt exhausted 
with grief even more than with fatigue. 

" So many cruel emotions were too strong for the female part of the family 
and for the children. Napoleon Bertrand fell down senseless while touch- 
ing with his lips the ice-cold hand of the Emperor. 

" 2£ay 6. The Abbe Vignali passed the night in prayer beside the Emper- 
or's body. Bertrand and I fulfilled, by turns, the pious duty of watching. 
Marchand, although still very weak, also watched. The physicians, Antom- 
raarchi and Arnott, passed the night in a similar manner. 

"This morning, at seven o'clock, Sir Hudson Lowe, followed by his whole 
staff, and accompanied by the French admiral, by General Coffin, and by the 
members of the council of government, as well as by the captains of the ves- 
sels then in the Boads, came to Longwood, and required me to admit him to 
see the body of the Emperor. All was ready for this sad ceremony. The 
Emperor lay on his camp bed in his little bed-chamber. Noverras, although 
exhausted by dysentery, had collected all his strength in order to shave him ; 
and Marchand, with the assistance of St. Denis, had clothed him in the uni- 
form of the mounted chasseurs of his imperial guard. The cloak which ho 
wore at Marengo covered his feet, and a crucifix had been laid on his breast. 
The grand marshal stood on the right side of the bed, Marchand on the left, 
and the Abbe Vignali was engaged in prayer at the foot, when I admitted Sir 
Hudson Lowe, who had brought with him the Marquis JMontchcnu, commis- 
sioner of King Louis XVIII. , and charged j^er interim with the functions of 
commissioner of the Emperor of Austria ; Admiral Lambert, commander of 
the squadron ; Brigadier General Coffin, commander of the brigade of land 
troops ; Messrs. Brook and Thomas, members of the council of colonial ad- 
ministration of tlie island ; two captains of the royal marine ; and Drs. Mitch- 
ell, Short, Arnott, Burton, and Livingston, surgeons of the squadron, the gar- 
rison, and the East India Company. 

" Sir Hudson Lowe bowed respectfully when I showed him the inanimate 
corpse of the Emperor, and his example was followed by all the persons of 
his suite. They all defiled before the bed with religious silence and respect. 

" But scarcely had we quitted the chamber when Sir Hudson Lowe an- 
nounced to me that the surgeons, by his orders, were about to proceed imme- 
diately to the post-mortem examination. I indignantly rejected the proposal, 
and summoned the grand marshal to my assistance ; but our protestations 
would have been impotent against the will of the governor, had not the Mar- 
quis Montchenu added his opposition to ours, declaring that, acting in his 
double quality of commissioner of France and Austria, he protested against 
this illegal order, and claimed the execution of the regulations in use in the 
island with regard to interments. 



G54 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLIX. 

" Sir Hudson Lowe was obliged to yield to the declaration made that the 
customs of St. Helena demanded that, unless symptoms of decomposition 
made their appearance, an interment should not take place before the expira- 
tion of twenty-four hours. It was agreed that this usage should be respected. 

" The Emperor's death was unhappily but too certain. We could no longer 
entertain the slightest gleam of hope ; and, nevertheless, our grief was sadly 
increased when, toward noon. Dr. Antoramarchi declared to us that decom- 
position was making rapid progress, and that the necessity for proceeding to 
the examination and embalmment was urgent. 

" Sir Hudson Lowe was informed of this state of things, and at tw» o'clock 
P.M., the English medical men. Short, Arnott, Mitchell, Burton, and Living- 
ston, joined Dr. Antommarchi. T}ie latter proceeded to the examination, in 
presence of the grand marshal, myself, and the persons belonging to the house- 
hold of the Emperor ; tlie governor was represented by the chief of his staff. 
This sad operation Avas performed in the topographic cabinet. 

" Sir Hudson Lowe had signified to us that, conformably to the orders of 
his government, he forbade the embalmment of the body. But it was only 
at the moment that Dr. Antommarchi was proceeding to inclose the heart in 
a silver vase filled with spirits of wine, the Emperor having commanded us 
to take it to the Empress, that he sent a message declaring his opposition to 
this measure, and stating that no part should be thus preserved but the stom- 
ach, which was to be sent to England. 

"This declaration gave rise to a warm discussion. ^Vll we could succeed 
in obtaining was, that the heart should be inclosed in a silver vase, in like 
manner with the stomach, and should be thus placed in the coffin. I also 
obtained permission to put into the coffin, in pursuance of an order received 
from the Emperor, a collection of gold money struck in his reign. The ex- 
amination being terminated, the Emperor was again clothed in the dress of 
the chasseurs of the guard, and laid out on his camp bed in the chamber next 
to his usual bed-chamber. The bed was placed so as to face the glass door 
which opened to the little garden, and a crucifix was placed on his breast. 

"The reo-iments of the o-arrison, and numerous detachments of the crews 
of the squadron, in full dress, but unarmed, defiled before his mortal remains. 
They all, officers, soldiers, and sailors, bent the knee to the ground on arriv- 
ing opposite the glass door. Some of the officers entreated to be allowed 
the honor of pressing with their lips a corner of the cloak of Marengo, with 
which we had covered the Emperor's feet. 

" The grand marshal, Monsieur ]\Iarchand, and myself surrounded the bed 
of the Emperor. The Abbe Vignali was engaged in prayer at the foot. 

" Ifay 7. This morning the whole Creole population came in procession 
to Longwood to pay a last testimony of homage and respect to the illustrious 
, captive who had gained their love and admiration. 

" At two o'clock in the afternoon, every thing being ready for placing the 
Emperor's mortal remains in the coffin which was to shut him from all eyes 
forever, we proceeded to the performance of this cruel duty. 

" The following is the j}roces-verbal of it : 



1821, May.] RESIDENCE AT LONGWOOD. 651^ 

'-'' Proccs-verhal of the placing in the Coffin. 

" This day, the seventh of ]\Iay, one thousand eight hundred and twenty- 
one, at Longwood, island of St. Helena, the "body of the Emperor, heing 
clothed in the uniform of the chasseurs of his guard,' was by us, the under- 
signed, placed in a tin coffin, lined with white satin, and having a pillow and 
mattress of the same. We also put into this coffin the heart, inclosed in a 
silver vase, surmounted by the imperial eagle, and the box containing the 
stomach ; also a silver vase, engraved with the imperial arms, a cover of sil- 
ver ditio, a plate ditto, six double Napoleons in French gold, four single gold 
Napoleons, a double silver Napoleon, and two Italian double Napoleons of 
gold. 

" The first coffin, having been soldered in our presence, was placed in an- 
other of lead, which, after having also been soldered, was inclosed in a third 
coffin of mahogany. 

" The coffin was placed on the camp bed, in the chapelle ardente, and cov- 
ered with a pall of velvet, on which we spread the cloak which the Emperor 
had Avorn in every campaign since the battle of Marengo, after which we 
drew up and signed the ipvesent j?roces-verbal, the day and year above men- 
tioned. 

" (Signed), . Count Berteand. 

Count Montpiolon. 
Maechand. 

" 3fay 9. Scarcely was the grave destined to receive the mortal remains 
of the Emperor completed by the military laborers, when the governor sent 
us information that the ceremony of interment was to take place at eleven 
o'clock precisely, and desiring that we might be in readiness at that hour. 

" At ten o'clock A.M., the Abbe Vignali celebrated mass and the service 
for the dead. 

" At eleven o'clock, the garrison being under arms and lining the way, the 
cortege quitted Longwood ; the corners of the cloak were held by Count Ber- 
trand, Count Montholon, Napoleon Bertrand, and Marchand ; the Countess 
Bertrand and the whole of the Emperor's household surrounded the funeral 
car. The staff, and successively the whole garrison, followed in its rear. 

"At noon, the almoner of the Emperor having blessed the grave dug at 
the fountain of Colbert, and the prayers being concluded, the coffin was low- 
ered into the grave, amid the reports of salvos of artillery from the forts and 
the ships of the squadron. 

" The grave was then filled in and closed with masonry in our presence, 
and a guard of honor placed beside it." 

On the 27th of May, the surviving exiles of Longwood embarked for Eu- 
rope. " Before we left the island," says Dr. Antommarchi, " we went to se^, 
for the last time, the spot where Napoleon reposed. We bathed it with our 
tears ; we surrounded it v/ith violets and pansies, and bade hijn adieu forev- 
er. We took with us a few branches of the willow. The weather was fine [ 



656 



NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. [ChAP. XLIX, 




N.VPOLEON'.S GRAVE. 



Tiot a cloud Avas to be seen. The vnnd filled our sails ; the day was declin- 
ing, and St. Helena was disappearing in the horizon. We waved a last adieu 
to that honible rocJf." 



i FD E I 



Abdication, Napoleon's second, page 222. 
Abell (Mrs.), testimony of, 290 ; remarks upon 

Napoleon, 571 ; interview with the Emperor, 

579. 
Abuse disregarded by the Emperor, 586. 
Accounts, the Emperor's familiarity with, 95 ; 

revision of, 159. 
Acorn (Golden), anecdote of, 158. 
Alexander the Great, 481. 

Alexander of Russia, 109, 150, 272 ; disappoint- 
ed at Napoleon's second marriage, 273, 513 ; 

his designs on Constantinople, 534. 
Algerines, their character, 430. 
Ambigu (The), 536. 
America the proper asylum for Napoleon, 221 ; 

treaty with, 285, 
Amherst (Lord), his proposed interview, 558 ; 

presentation to the Emperor, 575. 
Amiability, 62. 
Amiens, rupture of the treaty with, 438 ; peace 

of, 472, 556. 
Andreossi, 155. 
Anecdotes of the Emperor, 19, 38, 59, 84, 103, 

129, 136, 217, 238, 276, 386, 422, 585 ; of the 

court, 205. 
Antommarchi (Dr.), arrival at St. Helena, 613 ; 

first interview with the Emperor, 614. 
Antwerp, its works, 443. 
Aristocracy, the support of monarchy, 308 ; its 

character, 470 ; remarks upon, 597. 
Army, organization of, 75 ; its best discipline, 

482, 465. 
Atheism, Napoleon's views of, 549. 
Augereau, 39, 42, 191. 
Augusta (Princess), anecdote of, 108. 
Austria, 220 ; her peril, 409. 

Baden (Prince of), 216. 

Baggage of the Emperor examined, 15. 

Bailly (M.), his character, 258. 

Balbi (Madam de), remarks upon, 320. 

Balcombe (Mr.), his residence, 36. 

" (Miss Elizabeth), Mrs. Abell, 51 ; re- 

ceives a horse from the Emperor, 574 ; de- 
parture from St. Helena, 607. 

Balcombe family, final interview with the Em- 
peror, 608. 

Barras, 246 ; his character, 247. 

Barre (General), 207. 

Bathurst (Lord), communication from, 148 ; his 
brutality, 416 ; his character, 486 ; his incor- 

T 



rect assertions, 564 ; letter to Sir Hudson 
Lowe, 579 ; commands that the Emperor 
should exhibit himself twice a week, 612. 

Battle, fate of, 52 ; Napoleon sleeps on the field 
of, 121 ; dangers of, 127. 

Belgians regret the victory of Waterloo, 546. 

Bellerophon, the Emperor received on board of,13, 

Bergen-op-Zoom, its defense, 242. 

Berlin Decree, its origin, 365. 

Bernadotte, his hostility to France, 337 ; opinion 
of, 475. 

Bernardin, 78. 

Berthier (Marshal), 42. 

Bertholet, his apostasy, 200. 

Bertrand (General), 58 ; condemned to death, 
321. 

Bessieres, 48 ; his death, 521. 

Billaud de Varennes, 590. 

Blockade, the right of, 337. 

Blucher (General), 464. 

Books, arrival of, 283. 

Bossuet, his four propositions, 347. 

Botanist (The), not permitted to see the Emper- 
or, 538. 

Bourbons, remarks upon the, 35, 90, 92, 385 ; 
their precarious situation, 375 ; their fanati- 
cism, 446 ; deface public monuments, 493 ; 
anecdote of, 536. 

Briers (The), description of, 32. 

Broughton (Lord), Mr. Hobhouse, present to the 
Emperor from, 323. 

Brumaire, its revolution necessary, 294. 

Brune (General), 191. 

Bulletins, correctness of, 127. 

Bust of Napoleon's son, 569. 

Cadastre, 96. 

Cadoudal, his interview with the first consul, 231. 

Cffisar, 53, 481. 

Caffarelli, 196. 

Cambaceres, 45. 

Campan (Madam), her establishment, 215. 

Canals of France, 330. 

Caricatures, remarks upon, 90. 

Carnot, 46, 223, 249. 

Caroline, Queen of Naples, 212, 448. 

Carteaux (General), 23. 

Castlereagh (Lord), 256 ; his slanderous asser- 
tions, 287 ; his hostility to liberty, 488 ; in Na- 
poleon's power, 488 ; his weak policy, 537 ; 
his libelj 545. 

T 



658 



INDEX. 



Catharine of Russia, her character, 338. 

Catholicism, remarks upon, 345. 

Chance, remarks upon, 21. 

Charette, his character, 458. 

Chateaubriand, speech of, 237. 

Chatham (Earl of), policy of, 256. 

Chemical experiments, 386. 

Chemistry, 75. 

Cherbourg, works at, 301. 

Chevreuse (Madam do), 230. 

Cipriani, death of, 606. 

Circumstances which had aided in the Emperor's 
career, 185. 

Clay's (Henry) remarks upon Napoleon, 196. 

Cockburn (Admiral Sir George), remarks upon, 
61 ; interview with, 65; dines with the Em- 
peror, 68 ; summary of his character and con- 
duct, 145 ; rudeness of, 147. 

Code Napoleon, 483. 

Colonial system, remarks upon, 377. 

Commissioners of the Allies, 276. 

Conde (Prince of), 482. 

Conscience, liberty of, protected by the Emperor, 
444. 

Conscription, remarks upon, 604. 

Conspiracies, 20 ; of Cerachi, 130 ; of the fanatic 
of Schoenbrun, 131 ; of Cadoudal, 231. 

Constant (M. Benjamin), his conversation with 
the Emperor, 115. 

Constantinople, 170 , remarks upon, 333, 452. 

Convention, its history, 260. 

Convents, remarks upon, 324. 

Copenhagen, 255 ; attack upon, 265. 

Corbineau (General), 80. 

Cornwallis (Lord), character of, 256, 555. 

Coronation by the Pope, 347. 

Corsica, 228 ; remarks upon, 621. 

Corvisart, 105. 

Countenance not always true index to character, 
225, 297. 

Cromwell, remarks upon, 561. 

Curates, usefulness of, 483. 

D'Artois (Count), 35 ; anecdotes of, 154. 

Danton, 590. 

Decres, 19, 196 ; anecdote of, 198. 

Derlon, 53. 

Desaix (General), remarks upon, 21, 53, 191, 510. 

Dictation, manner of, 28, 71 ; recommenced, 240; 
Emperor's mode of, 275, 397, 399. 

Dictatorship, necessity of, 288. 

Diplomacy, English, 254. 

Directory, measures of the, 250 ; remarks upon 
the, 253. 

Dolgoruki (Princess), letters of the, 229. 

Drama, remarks upon the, 459. 

Drawing-room of the Emperor, the furniture of 
the, 70. 

Dresden, Napoleon's situation at, 108 ; confer- 
ence at, 156. 

Dress, remarks upon, 299. 



Dufresne, secretary of the Treasury, 95. 

Dugommier, 25. 

Duroc, character of, 81, 491. 

Egypt, remarks upon, 19, 21, 127 ; campaign of, 
315; plans for the improvement of, 550. 

Elba, situation of the Emperor at, 143 ; return 
from, 536. 

Eliza, sister of Napoleon, 448 ; her death, 633. 

Elphinstone's (Hon. John) present to the Emper- 
or, 578. 

Emigrants, return of the, to France, 183. 

Enghien (Duke of), 235 ; his execution, 499. 

England, colonies of, 75 ; invasion of, 97 ; mo- 
tives of, 114; animosity of the ministers of, 
150 ; should be the friend of France, 152 ; the 
political interests of, 220 ; political condition of, 
235 ; the slanders of, against Napoleon, 255 ; 
the unpopularity of, 255 ; national debt of, 378 ; 
regeneration of, 379 ; taxes of, 431 ; military 
ambition of, 431 ; depressed condition of, 564; 
invasion of, 528, 603 ; military power of, 563 ; 
state of, 564 ; character of the aristocracy of, 
604. 

English government, weakness of, as a military 
power, 280 ; desire to seize the Emperor's 
funds, 376 ; unrelenting cruelty of, 401. 

English seamen, 433. 

Etiquette, remarks upon, 275 ; of Longwood, 622. 

Eugene (Viceroy), 53. 

Europe, prospects of, 90, 141 ; histories of, 333. 

European capitals, expenses of living in, 157. 

Exmouth (Lord), expedition of, 430. 

Family of Napoleon, 393. 

Farewell to France, 17. 

Farmer, conversations of Napoleon with, 61 

FataUsm, 400. 

Faubourg St. Antoine, anecdote of, 423. 
" St. Germain, anecdote of, 420. 

Finances, administration of, 240. 

Fish-basin, 630. 

Fontainebleau, 143 ; remarks upon, 332. 

Fortifications, remarks upon, 68 ; Longwood sur- 
rounded by, 484. 

Fouche, 419, 590. 

Fowling-pieces, the Emperor presented with, 67. 

Fox, character of, 256. 

France, prospects of, 141 ; division of, 219 ; man- 
ner of living in, 270 ; remarks upon, 277 ; ar- 
rangements made for the poor in, 311 ; peril 
of, 471 ; unsettled state of, 519. 

Francis (Emperor), 42, 150. 

Frederick the Great, his sword, 479. 

French (The), natural character of, 107 ; fickle- 
ness of, 137; opposition to the Bourbons, 561. 

Gall, remarks upon, 318. 

Gaming, Napoleon's hostility to, 493. 

Gantheaume, 196. 

Gasparin, representative, 24. 



INDEX. 



659 



Gasparin (representative), 24. 

Gentilini, Napoleon's footman, 480, 

Georges, 20. 

Germans, hostility of the, toward the Emperor, 

494. 
Gibraltar, 68. 
Gil Bias, 242. 

Goldsmith, secret history of Napoleon by, 72. 
Gourgaud (General), 58 ; return to Europe of, 606. 
Government of Napoleon, energy of, 96. 
Gracchi (The), 120. 
Grant (Madam), 227. 
Great men, causes of the success of, 481. 
Greece, 110. 

Gregoire, character of, 258. 
Grouchy, 53 ; delay of, 553. 
Guiche (Duchess of), 35. 

Gustavus IV. of Sweden, 334 ; appeal to Napo- 
leon of, 335. 

Hamiton (Captain), presentation to the Emperor 
of, 154. 

Hannibal, 481. 

Hippocrates, 105. 

Historical Atlas of Las Gasas, 281. 

History (Ancient), 120. 
" (Roman), 121. 

" very defective, 395 ; justice will be done 
the Emperor by, 444 ; difficulty of obtaining 
facts in, 497. 

Hoche (General), 190. 

Holland (Lord), protest of, 280 ; investigation of 
the treatment demanded by, 563. 

Holy Alliance, remarks upon the, 625. 

Hortense (Queen), 210. 

Hostile biographers of Napoleon, 426. 

House, preparations for building, for the Emper- 
or, 206 ; remarks upon, 306 . 

Household (Imperial), composition of, 58. 

Hulks, the English, 440. 

Iliad of Homer, 188. 

Imagination, effects of, 70. 

Immorality, remarks upon, 434. 

Imperial government, its efficiency, 455 ; a re- 
public, 541 ; remarks upon, 605. 

Imperial palaces, expenses of, 158. 

" title refused by the EngHsh, 15, 581. 

Incognito, the Emperor proposes to assume, 417 ; 
refused to the Emperor, 543. 

India, the invasion of, 197. 

" (East) fleet, 200 ; remarks upon, 453 

Industry (French) encouraged, 285. 

Infernal machine, 47, 462. 

Inspector of reviews, post of, 390. 

Institute, Napoleon a member of the, 192. 

Institution, European, planned by the Emperor, 
484. 

Internal improvements, remarks upon, 329. 

Iron railing, 548. 

Italian republic, 471. 



Jean d'Acre, 467. 

Jerome (King of WestphaUa), 213, 448. 

Jesuits, dangerous principles of the, 446. 

Jews, the Emperor affiarded protection to, 444. 

Joseph (King of Spain), 212, 448. 

Josephine, 52, 110; character of, 208. 

Jourdan (Marshal), 428. 

Junot, anecdote of, 27 ; Duke of Abrantes, 298. 

Jurisprudence, remarks upon, 405. 

King of Rome, anecdote of, 40 ; his prospects. 

220. 
Kleber, remarks upon, 22, 53, 207, 510. 

Labaillerie, character of, 240. 

Lacretelle, history of the Convention by, 257, 259. 

La Harpe, writings of, 324. 

Lannes, 48 ; last moments of, 80. 

La Paux (M.), character of, 247. 

La Perouse, shipwrecks of, 141. 

Larrey (Baron), character of, 427, 

Las Casas (Count), the new room for, 76 ; con- 
dition at court of, 282 ; arrest of, 505 ; exam- 
ination of the papers of, 507 ; summary of the 
condition of, 515 ; sent to Europe, 524. 

Las Casas (Immanuel), urged to groom his own 
horse, 103. 

Lavalette (Count), 204. 

Lavater, remarks upon, 318. 

La Vendee, troubles in, 457. 

Le Brun (Consul), 491. 

Legion of Honor, remarks upon, 409. 

Legitimacy, doctrines of, 574 ; remarks upon, 
625. 

Leopold (Prince), 469, 559. 

Letitia (Madam), 212 ; letter from, 231 ; letter to 
the allies from, 525. 

Letters, inspection of, 59 ; detention of, 236. 

Libels, remarks upon, 21, 63, 599 ; upon the Em- 
peror, 161, 199, 354, 554 ; Lord Castlereagh, 
398. 

Lieutenant, anecdote of, 239. 

Little Corporal, anecdote of, 27. 

Little Gibraltar, 24. 

Liverpool (Lord), character of, 485. 

Locke, system of, 486. 

Lodi, 23. 

Longwood, description of, 30 ; removal to, 56 ; 
plan of, 58 ; limits of, 70 ; remarks upon, 120 ; 
inmates of, 125 ; its great privations, 127 ; do- 
mestics of, examined, 163; its destitution, 257, 
385 ; plans for enlargement of, 297. 

Loudon (Lady), arrival of, 200. 

Louis XVI., 46, 62. 
" XVni., 55. 
" (King of Holland), 210, 392, 448. 

Lowe (Sir Hudson), impertinence of, 141 ; pre- 
sentation of, 144 ; the Emperor's opinion of, 
144; Emperor's interviews with, 171, 201, 
352; exactions of, 176; new requirements, 
199 ; unreasonable exactions, 205 ; servant 



660 



INDEX. 



arrested by, 215 ; remarks upon, 239 ; vexa- 
tions of, 296, 305 ; the Emperor admits to an 
audience, 305 ; the insulting cruelty of, 323 ; 
the Emperor determines no more to see, 342 ; 
insolent message sent by, 355 ; vulgarity of, 
383 ; annoyances continued by, 404 ; new ex- 
actions demanded of the French by, 406 ; new 
restrictions of, 410 ; exacts the " pound of 
flesh," 416 ; remarks of Napoleon upon, 508 ; 
quarrels with Dr. O'Meara, 581 ; Dr. O'Meara 
insulted by, 601. 

Lower class, nations are formed of, 547. 

Lyons, entrance into, 110. 

Maintenon (Madam de), letters of, 376. 

Malcolm (Sir Pulteney), Sir George Cockbum re- 
placed by, 275 ; appearance of, 279 ; remarks 
upon, 280 ; a tent for the Emperor pitched by, 
320. 

Mallet, the affair of, 446. 

Malta, 584. 

Manning (Mr.), the arrival at St. Helena of, 566. 

Manufactures (French), 75, 224. 

Marchand, the valet, 71. 

Maria Louisa (The Empress), 42, 101 ; envied by 
her mother-in-law, 108, 110; constraint of, 538. 

Marine department, 196. 

Market-woman, anecdote of, 422. 

Marmont (Marshal), 42 ; betrays the Emperor, 
127 ; defection of, 492. 

Marriage, remarks upon, 243 ; independent of 
priests, 445. 

Masonry, modern, 122. 

Massena (General), 39, 191 ; character of, 511. 

Mathematics, the Emperor's fondness for, 74. 

Medicine, the Emperor's distrust of, 51 ; remarks 
upon, 104, 242, 243. 

Menou (General), 207. 

Mesmer, remarks upon, 318. 

Metternich, interview of Napoleon with, 152 ; the 
intrigues of, 274. 

Meudon, institute of, 40. 

Military school at Paris, 241 ; at St. Germain, 
241 ; at St. Cyr, 241. 

Ministry (English), warlike spirit of, 471. 
" (of Napoleon), 491. 

Mirabeau, remark of, 225. 

Mohammed (of Voltaire), 160; character of, 160. 

Moliere, the Hypocrite of, 355. 

Mollien (M), character of, 240. 

Monges, character of, 258. 

Moniteur (The), testimony of, regarding Napo- 
leon, 269. 

Monks, the return of, to France, 278. 

Montesquieu, 35 ; Madam, 40. 

Montholon (Count), the Emperor's attachment 

for, 535. 
Montholon (Madam), visit to, 71 ; return to Eu- 
rope of, 613. 
Montholon (Tristam), anecdote of, 296. 
Moore (General), 207. 



Moral courage, remarks upon, 53. 

Morass, the Emperor mired in the, 66. 

Moreau (General), remarks upon, 22, 53, 190 ; 

statue to, 231 ; his conspiracy, 234, 510; his 

death, 521. 
Mosaic account scrutinized, 387. 
Moscow, remarks upon, 15 ; its conflagration, 

363 ; ought the Emperor to have died at, 447. 
Moses, books of, 188. 
Murat (King of Naples), 53 ; intelligence of the 

death of, 86 ; parallel between Napoleon and, 

87 ; character of, 300, 466, 568. 

Nantes (Bishop of), character of, 346. 

Napoleon, anguish of, 33 ; charity of, 44 ; wounds 
of, 62 ; daily habits of, 68 ; disappointments of, 
70 ; ability of, for mental exertion, 89 ; court 
of, 99 ; political designs of, 101 ; remarks upon 
the career of. 111, 169, 385, 631; accusation 
against, 126 ; candor and impartiality of, 136 ; 
his regret that he did not go to America, 137; 
private conversation of, 142 ; remarks upon the 
treatment of, 147; desires of, for peace, 152; 
message to the Prince Regent, 154 ; remarks 
upon the captivity of, 155 ; the wardrobe of, 
156; proclamations of, to the army, 161 ; did 
not become a Mussulman, 162 ; parental influ- 
ence of, 164 ; achievements of, 174 ; visit of Sir 
Hudson Lowe to, 175; deplorable condition of, 
176 ; is invited to dine at Plantation House, 
192 ; in the Council of State, 193 ; remarks on 
marriage by, 195 ; remarks on the governor's 
invitation to, 201 ; reading the Bible, 215 ; re- 
grets his irritation, 236, 3p3 ; kindness of, 242 ; 
plan of life of, 243 ; alternatives presented to, 
251 ; punning, 257 ; history will do justice to, 
205 ; no engagements with Spain violated by, 
265 ; second marriage of, 273, 479 ; care of 
wounded soldiers taken by, 292; return of, 
from Egypt, 293 ; assumption of government 
by, 293 ; paternal advice of, 318 ; appeal of, 
to Admiral Malcolm, 322 ; noble plans of, for 
France, 331 ; magnificent works of, 332 ; 
causes of the overthrow of, 340 ; angry inter- 
view of, with Sir Hudson Lowe, 352 ; reasons 
for retaining the title of Emperor, 366 ; review 
of the career of, 366 ; offers to pay his ex- 
penses, 376 ; large expenditures of, 383 ; in- 
tellectual activity of, 387 ; intense occupation 
of, 395 ; habits of, as Emperor, 396 ; mode of 
dictation of, 397 ; treasures of, 397 ; reply of, 
to libels, 399 ; refusal of, to see Sir Hudson 
Lowe, 413 ; proposal of, to assume incognito, 
417 ; political principles of, 420 ; familiar hab- 
i its of, 436 ; remarks of, on Sir Hudson Lowe, 
549 ; aversion of, to war, 472 ; comprehensive 
plans of, 473 ; wounded, 475 ; love of the sol- 
diers for, 475 ; the great principle of, " Equal 
rights for all men," 493 ; freedom of, from prej- 
udice, 493; confidence of, in final reputation, 
494 ; striking remarks of, 494 ; desire of, to 



INDEX. 



661 



destroy the feudal system, 494 ; reasonable de- 
mands of, 513 ; causes of the rise of, 514 ; let- 
ter of, to Las Casas, 517; esteem of, for the 
English people, 532 ; newspapers withheld 
from, 536 ; Goldsmith's secret memoirs of, 
552 ; libels upon, 554 ; habits of, 557 ; impe- 
rial title refused to, 581 ; the portrait of his son 
received by, 618; fondness of, for children, 
623 ; opposition of, to medicine, 630 ; remarks 
' of, upon medicine, 639 ; life of Marlborough 
presented to the 20th regiment by, 64 ; will dic- 
tated by, 641 ; remarks of, to Dr. Arnott, 643 ; 
sacrament of the Lord's Supper received by, 
644 ; religious feelings of, 645 ; letter to Gov- 
ernor Lowe dictated by, 647 ; death of, 651 ; 
burial of, 655. 

Narbonne (Count of), his character, 155. 

Native country, charms of, 226. 

Navy, 15 ; administration of, 390 ; remarks upon, 
454. 

Neapolitans, character of, 466. 

Neckar (M. de), 76. 

Ney (Marshal), 53 ; defense of, 55 ; trial of, 106, 
191. 

Nice, army of, 26. 

Nichols (Captain), journal of, 627. 

Nobility of Napoleon, reasons for the formation 
of the, 495. 

Northumberland, 15 ; sailors of, return to Eu- 
rope of the, 279. 

Nuitz, interesting anecdote of, 326. 

CEdipus, Greek tragedy of, 221. 

O'Meara (Doctor), 58 ; idea of Napoleon, 540 ; 
social conversation prohibited between the Em- 
peror and, 583 ; arrest of, 608 ; commission re- 
signed by, 608 ; is banished from St. Helena, 
609 ; final interview between the Emperor and, 
610. 

Orleans (Duke of), 55. 

Oudinot (Marshal), 191. 

Palm, execution of, 547. 

Pamplin (Admiral), arrives at St. Helena, 573 ; 
vulgarity of, 573. 

Paoli (General), 227. 

Parhament (British), bill of, 275. 

Paul and Virginia, remarks upon, 77. 

Paul of Russia, plans of, 337, 534. 

Pauline (Princess), marriage of, 187 ; extrava- 
gance of, 211, 448. 

Pavia surrendered to pillage, 291. 

Peace with England, Napoleon desired, 466. 

Peasant woman, anecdote of, 100. 

Pelletier, libels of, 541. 

Persia, 170. 

Peter the Great, remarks upon, 362. 

Phrenology, remarks upon, 637. 

Pichegru, arrest of, 233. 

Picture of son received by the Emperor, 618. 

Piedmont, remarks upon, 328. 



Piontkowsky, arrival of, 66. 

Pitt (William), policy of, 256 ; remarks upon, 452. 
486. 

Pius VIL, goodness of, 349 ; arrest of, 350. 

Plague, 105. 

Plate of the Emperor broken, 387. 

Poland, re-establishment of, 580. 

Political designs of the Emperor, 21. 

" economists, theories of, 284 ; Napoleon's 
views of, 284. 

Political principles of the Emperor, 420, 

Poniatowsky (Count), 460. 

Poor rates of England, 310. 

Poppleton (Captain), 206. 

Pradt (Abbe de), libel of, 164 ; dismissed from 
embassy, 164. 

Press, liberty of the, 269. 

Prisoners, exchange of, 439. 

Prisons of France, 314. 

Protest, the Emperor's, 34 ; Napoleon sends Sir 
George Cockburn, 38 ; of the Emperor against 
the treaty of August 2d, 357 ; Emperor dic- 
tates, 613. 

Protestantism, remarks upon, 345. 

Protestants, Bourbons oppress, 589. 

Prussia, King of, 274. 
" Queen of, 271. 

Public opinion, 45 ; influence of, 408. 

Racine, works of, 485. 

Raffles (Sir Stamford), arrival at St. Helena of, 
208. 

Reade (Sir Thomas), vulgarity of, 519. 

Recamier (Madam), 94. 

Regency, history of, 333. 

Religion, remarks upon, 244 ; Napoleon's ideas 
of, 344 ; remarks upon, 616. 

Renouard, the writings of, criticised, 93. 

Reprisals, the Emperor restrained from, 440. 

Restrictions at St. Helena, 523. 

Revolution (French), 137, 140; situation of Na- 
poleon at the commencement of, 227, 601. 

Revolution, influence of, 92 ; remarks upon, 125 ; 
of France and England compared, 179 ; inevi- 
table miseries of, 374. 

Rewbel, (M.), 247. 

Robespierre, 45 ; character of, 590. 

Romance of Napoleon's life, 289. 

Rousseau, new Eloise by, 237. 

Rue de la Victoire, house in, 158. 

Russia, retreat from, 168, 220, 460 ; campaign 
of, 364 ; vast designs of Napoleon against, 364 ; 
expedition to, 472 ; aggressions of, 562 ; best 
mode of checking its power, 559, 580. 

Sailing of the convoy, 17. 

Sailor, anecdote of, 68 ; (British), anecdote of, 

557. 
Santini, design of, to kill the governor, 323. 
Savary, remarks upon, 274, 419. 
Saxony, campaign of, 369. 



662 



INDEX. 



Schoenbrun, fanatic of, 131. 

School, female, at Ecouen, 341 ; at St. Denis, 

241. 
Scipio, 121. 

Secret memoirs of Napoleon, 552. 
Senate, character of, 37. 
Sensibility, remarks upon, 391. 
Sentinel, the Emperor aimed at by the, 71. 
Serrurier, 39. 

Ships, French, taken by the English, 560 
Sidmouth, Lord, character of, 486. 
Si^yes (Abbe de), discomfited, 294 ; anecdote of, 

419. 
Slave, anecdote of a, 39. 
Smith (Sir Sydney), 467. 
Society, pleasures of, 242. 
Soldiers, anecdote of, 154 ; of the English, 225 ; 

remarks upon, 253 ; English, 464. 
Somnambulism, remarks upon, 319. 
Soult (Marshal), 123, 191 ; anecdote of the wife 

of, 191. 
Sovereigns, weakness and credulity of, 188. 
Spain, Napoleon's designs for, 467. 
Spaniards, 88. 
Spanish princes, treatment of, 54 ; dethronement 

of, 589. 
Stael (Madam de), character of, 341, 426. 
Stephanie (Princess of Baden), 215, 217 
St. Bartholomew, massacre of, 373. 
St. Domingo, remarks upon, 258 ; debt of, 389 ; 

error of Napoleon respecting, 592. 
St. Helena, remarks upon, 14, 86 ; arrival at, 28 ; 

description of, 28; hopelessness of release 

from, 150; chances of leaving, 281. 
.St. Lawrence, contemplated colony of, 221. 
Strange (Sir Thomas), visit to St. Helena of, 519. 
Stunner (Baron), sent from the island, 609. 
Sufi'ren (M. de), remarks upon, 453 
Sugar from beet-root, 75. 
Suicide, remarks upon, 14, 596. 
Summary of three months, 128 ; of April, May, 

and June, 1816, 290. 
Sussex (Duke of), protest of, 280. 
Syria, 128. 

Talleyrand, character of, 138 ; intrigues of, 274 ; 
urges to peace, 340, 478, 549 ; anecdote of the 
wife of, 549, 590. 



Talma, anecdote of, 94. 

Taxes of England, 431. 

Tilsit, interview at, 271 ; treaty of, 272. 

Titles of honor, remarks upon, 305. 

Toby, the Malay slave, 48. 

Toulon, 23. 

Toussaint, character of, 259. 

Tragedy, influence of, 93. 

Treasures of Napoleon, 397. 

Treasury of France, 240; minister of, 391. 

Treaty of August 2d, 171, 354 ; given entire, 356. 

Tribunate, suppression of the, 37 

Tronchet, 193. 

Tuileries, court of the, 229, 239, 382. 

Turenne, 56, 482. 

United States, purity of the ministry of the, 491. 

Valley of Silence, 68, 83. 

Vendemiaire, 140, 551. 

Versailles, remarks upon, 331, 332. 

Villeneuve (General), 207. 

Voltaire, merits of, 161 ; comments upon. 221 

War (civil), fruits of, 313. 
" (Russian), causes of, 165, 429. 
" (Spanish), causes of, 187; remarks upon, 
262. 

Warden (Doctor), 199. 

Water, destitution of, at St. Helena, 435. 

Waterloo, carriage of Napoleon taken at, 107 : 
the English will lament the victory of, 1 14 ; 
could France have been saved after the battle 
of, 132 ; official documents taken from the Em- 
peror at, 155 ; dictation upon, 183 ; remarks 
upon, 432 ; ought the Emperor to have died at. 
447, 490 ; plan of the battle of, 552 ; course to 
be pursued after the battle of, 571. 

Weathercocks, description of, 199. 

Wellington, St. Helena selected by, 490, 591. 

Whitworth (Lord), misrepresentation of the in- 
terview with, 254 ; interview with, 556. 

Widows of Napoleon's generals, 230. 

Wilks (Governor), 67 ; Governor Lowe receives. 
74; departure of, 151. 

Williams (Miss), libel of, 123. 

Wilson (Sir Robert), libels of, 204, 527. 

Wright (Captain), remarks upon, 20. 



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